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a wheezing meditation
Nov. 28th, 2007 | 11:53 pm
For a month or so now, I have been able to run about 1.6 miles five nights a week. This may not seem like much to you distance runners out there, but it matters to me. I have never been able to do that in my life. I started shortly after New Year's. The first time, I could scarce get from the driveway to the end of the block, and I had to walk for another twenty minutes to get my breathing under control.
And now, 1.6 miles. Progress.
I never used to worry about staying in shape because since I didn't own a car and my jobs were almost entirely physical, it hardly seemed necessary. For several years I had a job where I almost always came home exhausted and soaked with sweat. In fact, I knew a guy who managed to lose sixty pounds simply by showing up to this job and adjusting his diet somewhat. I thought nothing of walking a mile to a certain drugstore to get my preferred brand of frozen pizza, or biking or walking a four-mile round trip to the bookstore. But now, I own a car and I spend much of the workday at a desk. In short, I have moved Up In The World, and so must make a conscious effort to exercise.
But I like the mental aspect of running more than the physical.
It seems to be a family trait that I am prone to, shall we say, fell moods. Black humours. An excessively grim disposition. But there's none of that when running. The universe shrinks. There's no brooding over the past, or contemplating the potential mischances of the future. There's only the next breath, and the next, and the next step, and the next, every one a triumph if you can take another.
It clears the mind wonderfully.
-JM
And now, 1.6 miles. Progress.
I never used to worry about staying in shape because since I didn't own a car and my jobs were almost entirely physical, it hardly seemed necessary. For several years I had a job where I almost always came home exhausted and soaked with sweat. In fact, I knew a guy who managed to lose sixty pounds simply by showing up to this job and adjusting his diet somewhat. I thought nothing of walking a mile to a certain drugstore to get my preferred brand of frozen pizza, or biking or walking a four-mile round trip to the bookstore. But now, I own a car and I spend much of the workday at a desk. In short, I have moved Up In The World, and so must make a conscious effort to exercise.
But I like the mental aspect of running more than the physical.
It seems to be a family trait that I am prone to, shall we say, fell moods. Black humours. An excessively grim disposition. But there's none of that when running. The universe shrinks. There's no brooding over the past, or contemplating the potential mischances of the future. There's only the next breath, and the next, and the next step, and the next, every one a triumph if you can take another.
It clears the mind wonderfully.
-JM