Current Reading - Born to Run

As an off-and-on runner throughout my life, I've been intrigued by everything I've been hearing about this book. Yesterday, when I finished the book I was reading on my Kindle with 30 minutes left in my workout, I finally decided to give it a try. I'm only 15% in, but it's definitely worth the read. It hasn't changed my life or my running yet, but it definitely is reminding me of why I keep coming back to running. The way the Tarahumara approach running is the way we should approach everything in life. It's easy to say they "run for the fun of it," but I think there's a lot more to it than that. They understand the value of being able to run far and long and cultivate that skill. While they are doing it, though, they are completely in the moment. They enjoy the process of running, of interacting with earth at the most basic level, and they fully feel and appreciate that experience. This approach is the same thing that attracts me to Buddhism. Even pain and hardship can be appreciated and valued if you are open to the experience and accept it for what it is, no more or less. In the last three weeks before my first marathon, I am going to try and truly feel the experience of running and enjoy the feeling like a little kid. Forget about "goal times" and "race pace". The marathon is an experience that merits my full attention without the distractions of data and statistics. I'm going to charge up my iPod, put on some awesome tunes, and just run however it feels good. If it take 6 hours, so be it. If I run like Phoebe from Friends, even better. It's time to stop focusing on being happy at the end of the run and start focusing on being happy throughout every mile. Now if I can only figure out how to do that in the rest of my life!