Born to Run

I am reading Born to Run.

Most people think it is about barefoot running. I guess that is a side note, but not the main point. The point is, to be truly great at running, you have to love it.  Really love it.  The kind of love that makes you get excited and look forward to your next run.  You can't be a success in running to loose weight, win a medal, earn money, or anything else.  The only thing that will lead to sustained success in running is to love it for what it is. 

I have three favorite quotes so far from the book:

1. The only way to truly conquer something, as every great philosopher and geneticist will tell you, is to love it.

2. Beyond the very extreme of fatigue and distress, we may find amounts of ease and power we never dreamed ourselves to own; sources of strength never taxed at all because we never push through the obstruction.

3. There are two godesses in your heart...  The goddess of wisdom and the goddess of wealth.  Everyone thinks they need to get wealth first and wisdom will come.  So they concern themselves with chasing money.  But they have it backwards.  You have to give your heart to the goddess of wisdom, give her all your love and attention, and the goddess of wealth will become jealous, and follow you.

Ask nothing from running, in other words, and you will get more than you ever imagined.

Reading this book while ramping up my mileage is amazing.  It is making me want to bust through the aches and pains and find out what I am capable of.  There is a cycle where I incrementally see running as the way to unlock my barriers and then every time I do I see another barrier to chase.  As I cross each of these, I grow more and more fond and dependent on running.

I am now running more miles per week than any previous point in my life.  I can see that increasing to 50, 60, 70 miles a week if my body lets me.  Can I do it?  Can I find the path.  We will see what the godess of wisdom has in store.

Stay tuned!