Running on Air
So I've been jogging almost every day for the last two weeks now. Five out of the last six days I've gone 4 miles, and on the other day I went 1.5 miles. My goal is to lose 10-15 lbs. this summer, and it feels great to finally take my life back into my own hands again.
Running is a great pastime. Not just for the obvious physical benefits, yes it burns fat, but also because it gives me a chance to clear my head. To think my own thoughts. To settle down and de-clutter my mind. For quite a while I've been struggling with negative thinking, bordering on paranoia. It feels great to just let all of that negative energy go, and to put all of my focus into running, building good karma, and feeding off of my own positive energy.
I'm not too sure that society will recover from this economic crisis. Capitalism might be finished. I might never find a stable, middle-class career that can support my family, but for 40-55 minutes a day all of those doubts and worries disappear. I just focus on looking at the little patch of pavement directly in front of my feet, or stare at the trees on the side of the road, or gaze off into the streaming clouds in the sky. Clearing my head works best when I try to manage my breathing. I make a concerted effort to inhale and exhale in a rhythmic pattern that is almost musical. It makes the jarring motion of running feel smoother.
The first mile is rough. I'm not going to lie. There are plenty of times, even in just two weeks, where I've doubted whether or not I should continue because I get winded. But after the first mile, I build a great head of steam that carries my momentum through for the next 3 miles. It feels great. After a mile I often times slow down and power walk for a bit, but my body, like its sending me a direct signal, does not want to slow down at that point. By the second mile I feel like I'm running on air.
Just the other day it was raining and dreary. I felt like staying in. Then outsmarted myself, and began to think about Nietzsche's Will to Power. I thought, "What would the Ubermensch in me do today? Stay in? Absolutely not!" So I overcame my inner dwarf (as Nietzsche called it) and ran in the pouring rain. It felt AMAZING. To get out there and feel alive for the first time in such a long time. To push myself. To get back my killer instinct, my mental edge as my Golfing brother Kevin says.
It feels great to finally do something besides reading, writing, and talking to professors. Bleck. Who needs that austere intellectualism all the time? I confess, there is a time and a place for "Thinking," and the Life of the Mind, but there should also be a time to balance that with physical fulfillment. Sound mind, Sound body! That's the key to life. Aristotle was right!
Running is a great pastime. Not just for the obvious physical benefits, yes it burns fat, but also because it gives me a chance to clear my head. To think my own thoughts. To settle down and de-clutter my mind. For quite a while I've been struggling with negative thinking, bordering on paranoia. It feels great to just let all of that negative energy go, and to put all of my focus into running, building good karma, and feeding off of my own positive energy.
I'm not too sure that society will recover from this economic crisis. Capitalism might be finished. I might never find a stable, middle-class career that can support my family, but for 40-55 minutes a day all of those doubts and worries disappear. I just focus on looking at the little patch of pavement directly in front of my feet, or stare at the trees on the side of the road, or gaze off into the streaming clouds in the sky. Clearing my head works best when I try to manage my breathing. I make a concerted effort to inhale and exhale in a rhythmic pattern that is almost musical. It makes the jarring motion of running feel smoother.
The first mile is rough. I'm not going to lie. There are plenty of times, even in just two weeks, where I've doubted whether or not I should continue because I get winded. But after the first mile, I build a great head of steam that carries my momentum through for the next 3 miles. It feels great. After a mile I often times slow down and power walk for a bit, but my body, like its sending me a direct signal, does not want to slow down at that point. By the second mile I feel like I'm running on air.
Just the other day it was raining and dreary. I felt like staying in. Then outsmarted myself, and began to think about Nietzsche's Will to Power. I thought, "What would the Ubermensch in me do today? Stay in? Absolutely not!" So I overcame my inner dwarf (as Nietzsche called it) and ran in the pouring rain. It felt AMAZING. To get out there and feel alive for the first time in such a long time. To push myself. To get back my killer instinct, my mental edge as my Golfing brother Kevin says.
It feels great to finally do something besides reading, writing, and talking to professors. Bleck. Who needs that austere intellectualism all the time? I confess, there is a time and a place for "Thinking," and the Life of the Mind, but there should also be a time to balance that with physical fulfillment. Sound mind, Sound body! That's the key to life. Aristotle was right!