"To exercise at or near capacity is the best way I know of reaching a true introspective state. If you do it right, it can open all kinds of inner doors."
-AL OERTER, won Olympic Gold in Discus four times
Yesterday and today i did 2 solid 8 milers, heading out early enough to catch moderation in temps (well, sort of) and take my time working on pacing, enjoying the expanse of sky, air, and ribbons of roads. Today I might have been slower over all, but felt more consistent. My last half was the better half, as usual, as I took the final miles with a nice push in stride. 8 miles is a good length. It's enough to challenge me, and not so much to break me. By allowing enough time to work out all the initial fatigue and stiffness, I can really crank into the last half with fluidity and strength. It's a feeling that can't be duplicated in any other length, because when it's finally over, it's just in time.
Running is my bridge to the inner world, connecting through the outer doors of Nature. I become the conduit and mediator between heaven and earth as the energy passing through me, and on the move, swirls up the space into new vision and awareness. It is running which freed my inner mind despite my natural capacity for such journeying, dreaming, and creativity. Somehow I've needed this intense grounding and focus in my physical body to push me past the self-conscious pre-occupation with my state of being. Footfall by footfall, the run takes on a life of its own. I am not the run, and yet I am IN it. To be captured up into the fierce motion of it is another kind of ecstasy and release; it's no wonder the doors will fly open.
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