Training Day 8 of 71: Matter Over Mind

This drizzly Saturday in Los Angeles marked the second 'long run' day of my training: 7 miles. Now, 7 miles might be a snap for regular runners but this morning while looking up possible routes online I couldn't help but feel quite overwhelmed by the task at hand. 7 miles? Am I really going to go run 7 miles right now? Why not just go to brunch and come home and watch a movie with Dylan? But there was all afternoon for movies and the rain had temporarily ceased so I picked a 7 mile loop that started at Wilshire and San Vicente, went north up Barrington, past Sunset, past the Getty Center, right up to Mount St. Mary's college, then down Bundy, through a residential section of Brentwood, and back onto San Vicente.

I must have gotten enough sleep last night because I felt quite strong as I took off through Brentwood, I felt strong as I crossed Sunset, and even stronger as the busy city boulevards gave way to quiet residential streets. As I jogged steadily uphill the screech of traffic shifted to the smell of wet grass and new flowers. As my breath deepened with the uphill effort the damp air felt so good in my lungs, all my anxieties about whether or not I could run 7 miles evaporated. There I was, doing it, whether or not my mind thought I could. Then it struck me that this running thing isn't at all mind over matter; it's not about your mind convincing your body that you can do it. It's just the opposite. Each time I go out there my body shows my mind what I'm capable of.

In the book Jivamukti Yoga by Western yoga gurus Sharon Gannon and David Life they say, "Usually people come to class with certain ideas about what they are capable of achieving. For example, they may feel that a handstand is something for kids... In some cases, this attitude prevents them from even attempting a challenging asana like handstand, or at least causes them to fail in their attempts. With regular practice over a long period of time, however, one day they find themselves in handstand. In this way, asana undermines the hold that our beliefs about our limitations have on us, and we gradually see that they are not necessarily true. When we find that the old dog can be taught new tricks, we feel reborn." This has been completely true for my own yoga practice (just yesterday I found myself in side crow for over 30 seconds - a pose I always assume I don't have the upper body strength or hip flexibility for), but it is also directly applicable to the running. By just going out and doing it, I have been discovering what I am capable of, despite my beliefs and ideas. Through the doing my mind is changed. And as silly as it may sound, yes, it does feel a bit like being reborn, because I am experiencing a whole new level of possibility in myself - beyond the walls the mind has built.

So now I am ascribing more to the idea of matter over mind than mind over matter. Perhaps this will change when I hit higher mileage and my body really does start to break down. We shall see. In the meantime, check out the photo of the 'chill berry' frozen yogurt I got from The Big Chill for the drive home - so delicious.