Continuity

I have been going to the local YMCA more as of late to avoid the heat and maintain the feel of a constant leg turnover. But this morning it is 2:51 a.m., two hours before the Y opens, and a long work day is on the horizon (starting after sunrise) so I am engaging a 12-mile outside jaunt primarily within the visual confines of a headlamp. It is immediately noticeable within the first five to eight miles that the treadmill efforts have trained my body to move forward with fairly consistent and patient strides. However, beyond the 8-mile mark while approaching the Washington Baum Bridge on the return to Manteo, NC I had to dig deeper.

So I began mentally perusing the first chapter of a new running book I just started reading in the last few days. It is titled Meditations From The Breakdown Lane: Running Across America (by James E. Shapiro). Ironically, the decision to purchase the book came after watching the documentary The 3000 Mile Men (a film by Ben J. Southern) which shares the journey of Chris Finill and Steve Pope. It is ironic because the documentary could be considered rather plain/raw relative to other running movies. So much so you may find yourself not wanting to finish watching it. But I held on to the end (through the dryness) because perhaps the movie grasps the realness of running. Running is an unsophisticated spartan activity. And that is what kept my attention. It is almost a challenge to see if you can hold yourself in that moment of not wanting more or less (from the film) than the simple act of moving forward. Yes, that's it. Anyway, in the film Chris Finill mentioned this book and how he read it one sitting, and that it was a key motivator to run across the U.S. Anyway, back to the mental perusing...

It was this quote (from page 10) within a powerful passage that fueled me to push harder, when Jim Shapiro describes going beyond the 34th mile of a forty-to-fifty mile run, "I like being forced up against the wall a little so that I have to fight." Honestly up to this point in my running I have always relished when the feeling is seemingly effortless and have had that as my primary goal; learn to run so you can run your desired distance/race with ease. But Shapiro's desire to wallow in a place demanding grit has opened my mind to a new place to go. And so I went, pushing my resistant body.

It was going exceptionally well until nearing the end of the bridge. With about 150 meters to go a very large truck (tractor trailer) hugged the white line demarcation between the running/bike lane and the four lane road. I could call him/her a pavement-greedy asshole with a chip on their shoulder as they could have easily moved into the other lane, there were no passing cars/trucks and it was two lanes in the same direction. But I won't call them that even though I immediately stopped and hugged my body as close as possible to the side of the bridge when seeing the truck aggressively approach. Fortunately, their wheels never crossed into the run/bike lane so I was able to move on unharmed, finish faster than my planned pace, and then point to the sky as an expression of gratitude as continuity was certain in week 39 of The Streak. See you next week.