Had I been better prepared for the question from our guest I might have quoted Haruki Murakami who says "I just run, I run in a void. Or maybe I should put it another way, I run in order to acquire a void ..." and " The thoughts that occur to me while running are like clouds in the sky. Clouds of all different sizes. They come and they go, while the sky remains the same sky as always. The clouds are mere guests in the sky that pass away and vanish, leaving behind the sky. The sky both exists and doesn't exist. It has substance but at the same time doesn't. We merely accept that vast expanse and drink it in" That's a great way of describing the way I think but not necessarily what I'm thinking about. Anyway, I'm still no closer to answering the question. Perhaps there is no answer or maybe "how to perfect my date scone recipe" would be close enough.
This week I've started a recommended reading list. It's mostly for my own historical record but, who knows, it could grow into another separate blog to rival Art Garfunkel's! (Interestingly we have only 2 favourites in common "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" and "Tao Te Ching"). Art's actually got a list of all the books he's ever read, about 1200 odd up to 2007. I could never remember them all and anyway, my list is more current and doesn't include the couple I've read that I wouldn't recommend.
Sunday was a 'chop wood, carry water' kind of day and I did get out for a run that once again took me up into Pureora Forest. I ran for nearly 2 hours, over 20k, though my programme said 13. It was just a case of running where I felt like going and getting lost in that 'void'.
Monday was a 10k frequency run and on Tuesday I did my speed workout. That was a couple of k's to warm up followed by 12 x 400m on 1:30 with jog rest intervals between. The first 3 or 4 are always easy peasy but as you get further into it ... well let's just say I know what I think about when I'm running those! Survival! (I have experimented in the past with visualisation when running intervals. The one's where I
think negative work related thoughts only are quite a bit slower than the one's where I'm having to hold off Javier Gomez for the Olympic Gold). The final result was a couple that were too slow, some bang on time and several too fast. Not bad for running in the dark early in my buildup. They'll get very consistent later, they always do.
Wednesday was my day off and once again gave me a chance to do some chores like moving firewood before chopping firewood as well as the usual Donkey related jobs as well.
Thursday turned into an unscheduled day off. They happen occasionally especially when the goal event is a long way off. This one followed the usual trend which is ... slightly late getting home, feeding chooks etc (takes a bit longer for some reason), stop to have something to eat, get fire going, have more to eat, sit around, have more to eat, decide to wait until Sp.K gets home from dancing (she said she was going to do a walk), have more to eat ... when she does get home and says she's not walking ... use that as an excuse not to go. Friday was back to a frequency run. This time 11k because I'd forgotten to drop off agendas on my way home so I put them in a back pack and delivered them by hand. The solution worked well except for the 9k of it that was on State Highway 32, a road frequented by logging trucks and people trying
to pass logging trucks.
Saturday was more jobs around home, rooster culling and waaaay too much wood chopping and stacking. I finished up with one incredibly sore back by late afternoon. I thought it might jeopardise my run but once I got going it was OK and I managed to get my 10k done and get home and cleaned up before our visitors arrived. I'm pleased they came for dinner, they had some interesting questions.
Until next time ... take Jesus, take Marx, take Care
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