What else would a runner say on a day of no running? ;).
Now more than halfway through this run and while the terrain, weather, my condition and the distance left to run change constantly, the constant of this trip has been awareness of where I am. My mind is always focused on where I've come from, where I'm going, and how I'm going to get there from right here and now - whenever and wherever that might be. Today I've got nowhere to be but off my feet which my mind has got under control with no arm-twisting, so it's doing its own business too and thus about half of it is figuratively tied behind my back. (Still with me?)
In other words, it doesn't take much presence of mind to stay off my feet.
So what's my mind doing today since it doesn't have to devise ways of getting the crazy-ass body it's attached to from arbitrarily chosen "point a" to desperately anticipated "point b" when said body is somewhere between two said points?
Two things (in addition to chiding aforementioned feet to, "sit down, it's your frickin' day off!").
1. Wandering. ("Hey!" my feet are complaining, "why does mind get to move around?")
On a day of staying put awareness of "right here and now" gets to shift from the physical to the less tangible. I'm thinking of friends and family and how fortunate I am to have these people in my life. I'm not remembering the past ("Gee, I wish I'd done things differently.") or imagining the future ("Gee, this is how I'll do things when I get the chance."). My mind is here and now enjoying the feelings of love and kinship with the people that accompany me wherever I go and wherever I am, and it feels great.
Life provides us with many opportunities to realize what makes it so sweet but insists that we be in the here and now to do it, which is easy to do on a day when you are right where you ought to be. So, thank-you to all the people in my life for joining me on this adventure and for hanging out with me when my toes are up too, and let's all try to stay in the here and now even on the challenging days.
Now don't worry about me getting all mushy and all because - like any obsessed person - the other thing my mind is thinking about is my obsession. ("Feet! Get off you right now!")
(Maybe you should worry about me.)
Well, no matter! On to:
2. Surprise, surprise, I've planned out the rest of the run and am so excited my feet are twitching! (Whether with anticipation or fear is to be determined.)
Tuesday I run about 30 miles mostly along the coast to Ponce. On Wednesday I run to Salinas, about 23 miles, still on the coast.
Ten miles into Thursday's run I have a big decision to make:
My original plan was to run from Salinas to San Juan in two days: Salinas to Caguas, Caguas to San Juan - covering about 53 miles - but if I run a 45 mile route, by-passing Caguas through Agua Buena, I'll have all of 12/31 to explore San Juan. Agua Buena is more direct but there is no possibility of stopping before San Juan as there are no hotels on this route.
Which route will I choose? (I suspect we all already know.)
Planning the future of this trip was fun, but the real pleasure is in appreciating where I am right now, and that's where I'm going to stay.
- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone
Location:Paraguera, PR.
That last line says it all. :)
ReplyDelete