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Have I Not Run, Run So Far Away? Indeed, It Is So!
I haven't felt like writing much since getting back from the NPL convention, and I'm not wholly sure why. I have been in a big reading mood, though. Over the past few days, I've been slowly working through The Canary Trainer, If on a Winter's Night a Traveler, and Swords Against Death, depending on which I decide to pick up at a given time. I've also been recovering a bit. And out a bit. My cousin just returned from military training, a kind of post-boot-camp graduate school for those training to be officers. He regaled us with stories of the Fear-Factor-esque program (designed to eradicate potential sources of panic in those who would have to issue orders), and in return, we filled him in on what had happened regarding my aunt's death. Shortly before he entered this program, my cousin had told him that if something happened to her mother, they were not going to call him, because they wanted him to be able to complete the program without feeling obliged to help. He didn't hear the news until a few weeks after. Now he's back and we're putting the pieces back together for him.
Also, I've started running again. "Again" is a bit of a misstatement, because the last time I ran any notable distance with any notable regularity was in high school, about ten years ago. But in the past month or so, I've been acutely aware of the lack of exercise my body has been getting. It's kind of sad really. There was a time when the simple process of getting through the day was more than enough exercise for me. Getting to this class or that class or handling this or that problem. Now, though, I spend most of my day sitting at one desk or another, and I've finally come to grips with the fact that I actually need to schedule exercise into my daily routine.
I choose running because, back in high school, I was on the Cross-Country Running team. So, I remember what it's like to run regularly, even if my muscles have forgotten. I also remember what it's like to start running. Because, there's not really any great skill to long-distance running. You just keep running every day, and eventually, it becomes easy to do without collapsing. After that, there's some mental finagling and some special training, but really all the work has been done. The body says, "Yup, I can do that," and it does.
Right now, I'm running about 1.8 miles. That distance was chosen by running away from my house for ten minutes, then running back the same path. (I measured it later.) Somewhat masochistically, the route that I've picked out for myself is infested with hills of various sorts. There's a rather steep one just around the first corner, then a gentle upslope, then a gentle downslope, then a somewhat less gentle upslope. Then there's a lamppost where I turn around, reversing the slope values.
As I run, and my lungs wheeze, and my muscles ache, and my brow oozes liquid, my mind goes back to the first day of Cross-Country practice. Then, I and a few of the other freshman who would become my compatriots, were just told to run. It was kind of embarrassing, watching all of the other, more experienced runners pass us, once on their way out and again on their way back, but there wasn't any active humiliation. We couldn't make the run because we hadn't run the day before, or the day before, or the day before. Then there came a day when we had run the day before and before and before, and we were good to go. Then we raced.
Of course, I don't have the same expanses of time that I did back then. I had a good two hours to kill after school let out in high school, but now, I need to finish quickly so that I can start cooking dinner for myself. I don't have the luxury of sending myself out to run until exhaustion; twenty minutes is about as fer as I can go. And maybe, in a few weeks, I can start giving more exotic courses to run. For now though, I'm just going to swear at myself every morning for choosing a beginner's route with a #$*&^ hill!
SunNYTX: 31:27. The last step was a little confusing, but all in all it was a lot of fun.
Also, I've started running again. "Again" is a bit of a misstatement, because the last time I ran any notable distance with any notable regularity was in high school, about ten years ago. But in the past month or so, I've been acutely aware of the lack of exercise my body has been getting. It's kind of sad really. There was a time when the simple process of getting through the day was more than enough exercise for me. Getting to this class or that class or handling this or that problem. Now, though, I spend most of my day sitting at one desk or another, and I've finally come to grips with the fact that I actually need to schedule exercise into my daily routine.
I choose running because, back in high school, I was on the Cross-Country Running team. So, I remember what it's like to run regularly, even if my muscles have forgotten. I also remember what it's like to start running. Because, there's not really any great skill to long-distance running. You just keep running every day, and eventually, it becomes easy to do without collapsing. After that, there's some mental finagling and some special training, but really all the work has been done. The body says, "Yup, I can do that," and it does.
Right now, I'm running about 1.8 miles. That distance was chosen by running away from my house for ten minutes, then running back the same path. (I measured it later.) Somewhat masochistically, the route that I've picked out for myself is infested with hills of various sorts. There's a rather steep one just around the first corner, then a gentle upslope, then a gentle downslope, then a somewhat less gentle upslope. Then there's a lamppost where I turn around, reversing the slope values.
As I run, and my lungs wheeze, and my muscles ache, and my brow oozes liquid, my mind goes back to the first day of Cross-Country practice. Then, I and a few of the other freshman who would become my compatriots, were just told to run. It was kind of embarrassing, watching all of the other, more experienced runners pass us, once on their way out and again on their way back, but there wasn't any active humiliation. We couldn't make the run because we hadn't run the day before, or the day before, or the day before. Then there came a day when we had run the day before and before and before, and we were good to go. Then we raced.
Of course, I don't have the same expanses of time that I did back then. I had a good two hours to kill after school let out in high school, but now, I need to finish quickly so that I can start cooking dinner for myself. I don't have the luxury of sending myself out to run until exhaustion; twenty minutes is about as fer as I can go. And maybe, in a few weeks, I can start giving more exotic courses to run. For now though, I'm just going to swear at myself every morning for choosing a beginner's route with a #$*&^ hill!
SunNYTX: 31:27. The last step was a little confusing, but all in all it was a lot of fun.
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