The treadmill and Detox
Tonight I was on the treadmill walking and watching The Steve Prefontaine movie that I never grow tired of. The movie to me is such as inspiration and demonstration of the individual and what we are capable of doing. The other night, for the first time in years. I was able to run 5 minutes at a very slow pace (probably a 15 minute mile pace), but I was encouraged because my hypothesis (if I lose some weight I will be able to run again) was proven correct. So tonight I got back on the Treadmill, picked up the Pre movie from were I left off and starting walking. Six minutes into the walking I starting jogging, I found a rhythm and was able to go from a 15 minute mile pace to a 12 minute mile pace over 5:30 minutes. It was euphoric. There I was watching the movie and running myself, faster than I did 2 days ago. It was a surreal feeling of lightness and power.
My thoughts then turned to my son and companion Pharoah and my life at his age. I remember it being a very special, but also scary time. I was just beginning life and I didn’t really know it. There was great adventure out there awaiting me. The same as it is for him.
I was running on the Treadmill and thinking about him and his adventures with running, and listening to the movie and watching the great? Pre? getting ready to run in the Olympics against some of the best in the world. I saw something that was very familiar and probably familiar to every runner that ever ran in a race. Pre was nervous and had the jitters. I also realized that while Pre died in 1975, his spirit still very much lives in the our conscience. I remember so many races that had my stomach in a knot and it seem to happen every race.
What I now know, but didn’t know then was that running was something that I did for me, and my only focus was to go out and run as fast as I could as long as I could. I didn’t really have that understanding in High School or college. I was always thinking about what place I would come in, or would I get too tired and tie up. Who was watching and what did they think? I never ran a race with the kind of freedom that was needed for me to do my very best. Now, X-country was different in some ways and similar in others. I would run with a greater freedom, but still not with the idea of running as fast as I could for as long as I could.
I get so much inspiration from running and watching great runners do their thing. Pre was the type of runner that would run as fast as he could for as long as he could. In fact he missed getting an Olympic medal by one place because of that, but I never thought about the medal all that much. I just thought about the courage it took for him to run the way he did and I wanted to learn how to run that way.
The Feeling of being lighter
I have just finished day 13 of the Detox and heading into Day 14 and today I felt newness about life, especially my life. I am lighter on my feet. My outlook is a lot larger and greater and I am happy with the outcomes I am getting from the Detox.
Detoxing is similar to running long or middle distances. You have to have the fortitude not to quit and the courage to overcome any obstacles that might be in your mind that tell you that you can?t do it. Detoxing for me has been easier than for some people, but I realized I’ve trained to Detox from a young kid. I ran long and middle distances for 25 years and to do that you have to have patience, perseverance, passion and purpose (The 4 P’s) without that the training alone will get to you. To be a good miler or 2 milers you have to do a lot of over distance so you will have the strength for the race.
I sometime neglect how much training I have in my background and the strength that I’ve built over the years. There was a great book that I read years ago?The Journey of the Long Distance Runner. It was a book about a runner being pushed to do his best. The main thing I got out to the book was each of us has our own journey and no one can take for us or take it from us.
What I appreciate most about the Detox, besides the weight loss is the restoration on my feelings in so many areas. I feel deeper now that I did 14 days ago. It was been great being able to tune in and touch into a vibration of energy that inspires me.
If you decide to do the Detox, Do it for you. Do it because you want to run as fast as you can for as long as you can.
Jerome
