9.02 miles (total: 1498.46 miles)
My knees have been hurting a little bit since yesterday, so I went running on the trails today - my favorite loop. The soil is so soft from all the rain, so you feel like you are running on a soft blanket. The best thing about the trail running is that I never get bored - every twist, every turn, uphill, downhill keeps it interesting. It takes longer to cover the same distances, but it is very worth it. Every time I pass the same places on the trail, I remember the last run and what I thought about when I ran there... it's actually amazing the memories that I have formed from all these places.
I got a recommendation to read "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle" by Robert Pirsig. It turned out such a treasure, I couldn't put it down since yesterday, so I downloaded it on my audible, put my airpods and went with "the Zen" for a couple of hours running today.
In the book he says: "In a car you’re always in a compartment, and because you’re used to it you don’t realize that through that car window everything you see is just more TV. You’re a passive observer and it is all moving by you boringly in a frame. On a cycle the frame is gone. You’re completely in contact with it all. You’re in the scene, not just watching it anymore, and the sense of presence is overwhelming."
I would add to above: When you run, you touch the ground every single second - you are not only in the scene, you are the scene... sometimes pathetic, sometimes inspiring, sometimes unstoppable (but always true to your core self).
The run while started out slow and hard (the route start with uphill for about 0.8 of a mile) and the body is not yet warmed up... but a few minutes into it (I know the precise point by now) it "woke up" and I started running well, and enjoying the movement. Almost 2 hours into it (I took my time on the trails) with the "Zen", and I was in a "meta-Zen" myself - feeling both the endorphins and the rejuvenation from the intriguing book.
Another amazing running experience - let's call it "In the woods with the Zen" run.
This week is going to be COLD and SNOWY, but I am prepared.
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