Caves
There is a spiritual saying: "keep your mind in hell and despair not" (Elder Silouan). It is one of those sayings that becomes deeper over time - the kind that Samurai/zen masters note: study this carefully.
Always keep a grain of sand in the day. For pearls.
I realized after my last post that I do the same even in my training, it is just that I have taken a zone of proximal development to my pain cave.
When I began running after a decade-long break, I craved distance and would only get out to run far even though I would end up pretty depleted and in pain for a long time, both after the run and in the months after I began to run again - it is interesting how this did not deter me. So, my first step was to keep at it until my recovery improved. My new rule is that unless I am running particularly far, I must have no pain or exhaustion after runs. This also helps me note where stress is creeping in, to be ready to dial things back.
Once I found I was recovering well from those early runs, I added in distance: what David Roche described in Trail Magazine - I think back in 2007 - as the "trial of miles." I know about my progression because I write it down in pocket calendars. Not obsessive at all.
A year and a half ago, I added in hills: where I go now is mostly hilled, and I do not just mean 'rolling/ not flat' but some steeper sections. In the past year, I have progressively made each of these runs longer, and now comfortably run 26km per run, so have cut down to running four times a week most of the time, just because this is better for my work schedule.
When I see a run is getting too manageable, I either add on miles or more hills. But I do so in a way that never kills the run. And this is probably why I continue to build muscle and efficiency. Instead of speed, I focus on better form and breathing on the steep inclines - watching to see how comfortable it gets, to see if it is time to make it harder. I suppose I do consider speed, too, especially on inclines, but the point with speed for me is to get faster in a sustainable way: speed must never threaten the distance I crave, but it is there, as are hills that - when I thought back to a year ago - I could not always run, but I just kept going up them, thinking, one day I will eat you for breakfast.
"Keep your mind in hell and despair not" can also reflect the amount of hell one can be ready for. (The spiritual fathers also note that if one saw all of one's imperfections at once, one would be defeated by the sheer immensity of all that needs improvement...) When circumstance makes life incrementally harder than one would select for one's ZPD, there are salves for that. The Samurai master says that if one has not understood that the universe is essentially good, every other idea and understanding will be wrong, wanting. "If your daily comportment is conducted [according to this knowledge], you will not falter even if you do not possess in-depth knowledge... You will eventually be a master" (Muraki Musashi).
Always keep a grain of sand in the day. For pearls.
I realized after my last post that I do the same even in my training, it is just that I have taken a zone of proximal development to my pain cave.
When I began running after a decade-long break, I craved distance and would only get out to run far even though I would end up pretty depleted and in pain for a long time, both after the run and in the months after I began to run again - it is interesting how this did not deter me. So, my first step was to keep at it until my recovery improved. My new rule is that unless I am running particularly far, I must have no pain or exhaustion after runs. This also helps me note where stress is creeping in, to be ready to dial things back.
Once I found I was recovering well from those early runs, I added in distance: what David Roche described in Trail Magazine - I think back in 2007 - as the "trial of miles." I know about my progression because I write it down in pocket calendars. Not obsessive at all.
A year and a half ago, I added in hills: where I go now is mostly hilled, and I do not just mean 'rolling/ not flat' but some steeper sections. In the past year, I have progressively made each of these runs longer, and now comfortably run 26km per run, so have cut down to running four times a week most of the time, just because this is better for my work schedule.
When I see a run is getting too manageable, I either add on miles or more hills. But I do so in a way that never kills the run. And this is probably why I continue to build muscle and efficiency. Instead of speed, I focus on better form and breathing on the steep inclines - watching to see how comfortable it gets, to see if it is time to make it harder. I suppose I do consider speed, too, especially on inclines, but the point with speed for me is to get faster in a sustainable way: speed must never threaten the distance I crave, but it is there, as are hills that - when I thought back to a year ago - I could not always run, but I just kept going up them, thinking, one day I will eat you for breakfast.
"Keep your mind in hell and despair not" can also reflect the amount of hell one can be ready for. (The spiritual fathers also note that if one saw all of one's imperfections at once, one would be defeated by the sheer immensity of all that needs improvement...) When circumstance makes life incrementally harder than one would select for one's ZPD, there are salves for that. The Samurai master says that if one has not understood that the universe is essentially good, every other idea and understanding will be wrong, wanting. "If your daily comportment is conducted [according to this knowledge], you will not falter even if you do not possess in-depth knowledge... You will eventually be a master" (Muraki Musashi).
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| My mind is probably as clear as this water. Also, this is not for swimming! |
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