What’s on your mind?

Just as there are different types of runs for different training objectives, I’ve found there to be different runs for different state-of-mind objectives.

The early morning run is either meditative or time for me to plan out my day and think about what I want to accomplish. At the end of the day I am often running off stress or shaking out the cobwebs that have been under consrtruction all day long. I’ve run to discharge anger, relieve stress, perk myself up, calm myself down, solve some problem, or do some creative thinking. I’ve even been known to run and cry at the same time. Yes, I know – kind of loserish.

My favorite, though, are those free floating streams of consciousness (not to be confused with streams of sweat). I often write while running. Or rather, I’m composing and turning over lots of ideas, only a fraction of which ever make it onto paper or into my laptop. Sadly, when those thoughts are gone, they’re gone. I really hate that. I wish there was some way to capture those fireflies of thought, magical and fleeting. I feel like I am most conscious when I run.

Tonight I was thinking about dinner and mapping out how I’d prepare it, in what order each step should be. It came down to these basic components in this order: broil salmon, make pesto, steam asparagus, boil pasta. As I visualized each step and repeated them, I became aware of the rhythym of the words. It was the perfect cadence for my run. I can only imagine what the neighbors think when they see me huffing down the street babbling:

broil salmon, make pesto, steam asparagus, boil pasta…
broil salmon, make pesto, steam asparagus, boil pasta…
broil salmon, make pesto, steam asparagus, boil pasta…