All I know is that when I run I am absorbed in the activity, sometimes in a very conscious way as thoughts go flying by, other times it is almost mindless.
There are two types of thinking when running: one is external, a distraction, thinking of something completely separate like what happened last night or trying to compile your list of desert island discs; the other is internal, examining the mechanics of what you are doing, the way the feet are landing, your breathing, the movement of the muscles, the flow of air around your body, the rhythm of your footfalls
Most of the time my thoughts are internal. These are mixed with things I notice about my surroundings from the micro attention of looking where I am putting my feet and how the ground changes (important when you are running trails), to looking at the landscape. Every time I run I notice something new about the route, sometimes it is transient like the way the light plays on a wall, sometimes it is becoming aware of a feature that was previously invisible. There are always changes, minor variations that make an endlessly shifting pattern.
It is a bit like minimalist music.
Knock knock
Who's there
Knock knock
Who's there
Knock knock
Who's there
Knock knock
Who's there
Philip Glass
Reason No. 6 for running: Things are never exactly the same
3 comments:
good stuff again!
I think I am less introspective than you,
either I am thinking about something totally unrelated to running - sorting out the day ahead or the day just gone
or I am in the observational mode you decribe - my regular route is not as nice as yours - running alone and femal, I tend to stick to a fairly busy thoroughfare, but it is rural, so the changing seasons provide a constantly evolving tapestry of colour and change
and when on an urban run at night, I notice the silly things, like the way your shadow changes as you pass the street lights
keep this coming - I can recognise so much in what you say, but don't have your facility in expressing it
ps - and I love the joke!
Beanz
Yes I am lucky with my routes. I have to do them all in daylight. Though I do have a friend that runs trails with a headlight - it is something I have never fancied.
In winter I try to do my weekday runs at lunchtime.
As for introspection, I think I am going to enter my county's introspection championship. It's an open event where anyone can gather at the Hatfield Sports Village and stare into space
Cheers
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