“The best things in life are free
You can give them to the birds and bees
Gimme Money!
That’s what I want
Gimme Money
That’s what I want
That’s what I want.
That’s what I want”
Bradford-Gordy
Get Your Kicks For Free
After a year and a bit I am beginning to get the hang of this Enjoyment of Running thing.
In moderation, of course.
I have discovered the simple unsophisticated pleasure of just running out in the open air. This arises from the following stimuli:-
- Physical
- Sensual
- Aural
- Visual
- Mental
Physical
Actually being able to run - well fast jog - over several miles is amazing. This is something I have not done since schooldays - when I was not very good and very slow. How is it that I can do it now? There is a smug satisfaction for this old git to discover that I can stretch my physical abilities and reverse the tide of age-related infirmity - even if it is only for a while.
Apparently our distant ancestors used to feed themselves by hunting game by running over long distances until the animal tired and was unable to continue. It is said that by doing this we evolved as bipedal runners and so it is in our nature to run. In parts of the Kalahari a few people still use this method of hunting.
Sensual
The pleasure of running is said to come from endorphins released during extreme exertion. As I don’t do extremes I suspect I shall never experience this - when running. The benefits of Fresh Air and Exercise may have become a cliché - but that is because there is an eternal truth in it. Different surfaces - hard paths, gravel, mud, grass - all provide varying sensual inputs to be managed - and enjoyed.
There is a satisfaction to be obtained from cheating the weather by getting out for my runs when the sun shines and the rain holds off. But when I do get caught in the rain the sensual stimulation drives me on to achieve something better in the way of time or distance. Running hard into a strong headwind in heavy rain requires determination. I don’t go looking for bad weather - but if it comes to me I must deal with it.
Once-upon-a-time in Arizona I borrowed a bike and went riding with the local cycling club. It rained. None of them had ridden in the rain before. They loved it. Bought me breakfast. Stack of pancakes and maple syrup. The next week I went to California.
It rained.
Aural
What? The birds for a start. Running silently on my Asics the birds don’t hear me coming so carry on twittering as I pass. Up at the top of the hill, where I run cross the grassland, the skylarks sing. The cows all moo, the bull does too, down on Jollity Farm. The farmer on his quad-bike. The shooters in the woods.
I am sure twice I heard a turkey gobble.
Across the valley the cars and trucks are a distant looming boom. The trains hoot and growl - except sometimes when one comes along that is all whistle and puff-puff. Whoo-Whoo! Planes aplenty - all shapes and sizes. And heights. Sometimes a biplane. The police and hospital helicopters. The Chinooks or a Puma carrying the Big Cheese from MoD.
Why do Chinooks travel in pairs?
Visual
Trees, fields, brooks, houses, bridges - lots of bridges. A wet path reflecting the distant rainbow . Butterflies in season, grey squirrels all year. Soaring buzzards - and the rooks harassing them at nesting time. In their turn bothered by magpies, who are mobbed by the starlings. Once I saw a sparrow hawk dash into a hedge and grab a small bird. Deer in the field next to the path - remarkably close. The changing pattern of the skies.
Evening Cloud
Cow pats, horse manure, dog poo, dead leaves, fallen branches, shadows from a low sun.. In the spring - new growth and flowers. Bluebells in the woods.
Tins, plastic bottles, and bags (some containing dog poo), a broken toy, discarded tyre, graffiti.
Mental
Physical exercise gets the blood flowing more rapidly - including to the brain. So ideas often come to those who run. Also - I find the puzzles in the paper easier to do after a run. But - letting the mind wander on other things while running is not a way to improve on PBs. For this mental focus is required.
In order to complete the Bath Half Marathon I had to plan my programme of training and adapt it to my progress. During the course of the race I had to think about whether I was ahead or behind my planned schedule. Another aspect was the mental strength provided by knowing what I could do, physically, and keeping myself on the task in hand.
Cost
Running free is not entirely cost free:-
- Shoes
- Shorts
- Top - short-sleeved
- Socks
- Tights - warm for winter running
- Top - long sleeved and shower proof
Cheaper than a trip on Route 66. But you don’t get to see the meteor crater.
"A man who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing."
- Definition of a cynic - Oscar Wilde
No comments:
Post a Comment