the race of avarus - fie!

I truly wondered to myself today as I was running whether or not in mind I was attempting to 'run away from my life' and 'trade places' - in the manner so efficiently satirized by Horace (Satire 1). "How comes it ... that no man living is content with the lot which either his choice has given him, or chance has thrown in his way".  I am finally beginning to realise in my imagination that the idea of running away is a fallacy. The imagination seems to be the last stronghold of lies...
So, there is no such thing as running away. Horace explains if a god were to allow those who envied each others' lives to trade places, they would refuse, "yet 'tis in their power to be happy".
But there is such a thing as running towards.
As for physical running, I am so pleased about the advice - from the internet not from the trainer, to bring one's hands to the heart. Most of my runs are 15 miles (with a 13 mile as the short run), and ever since trying to bring hands to heart, I have consistenly kept my pace to its lowest average. I have an even faster pace, but that has, as of yet, never been even nearly sustainable: more like a surprise guest.
At first, after trying this technique, I couldn't sustain that feeling of falling forwards, but the body seems to prefer it, and every day it gets easier. Even though I was told by others - and previously felt - that my posture was straight, with this new technique I feel that I am almost always 'poised towards the distance'. The legs wish to follow, like a Walking Duck Toy. I think, however, that I had lacked the arm strength to make this transition naturally, without the bidding of the mind. But once the body 'felt' the new posture, it has wished to adopt it whenever possible.
The body is amazing.

 Image without brush: A.S. Garbage Can

So, why not allow that possibility to translate into other areas of life? I am currently, in other areas of life, contending against a currently unfriendly milieu, but am a proponent of: "nowhere to run to, baby, nowhere to hide". Hence the importance of the Horation Satire.
Recently, there was an UltraRunning Magazine video interview, I think called the Juggler, with an ultrarunner who I'm pretty sure was a pastor and father of four, who said that while he gives precedence to family time and sometimes falls short in training hours, he still shows up at races with the idea that he will give himself a chance to win.
Furthermore, not to skim over the subject with a laugh like a writer of witticisms - and yet what is to prevent one from telling truth as he laughs, even as teachers sometimes give cookies to children to coax them into learning their ABC?
The lesson Horace offers is one of moderation: "When I call on you not to be a miser, I am not bidding you become a worthless prodigal."
Which is to say, to make the attempt, to give ourselves the chance at fortune and not to be victims of avarice, e.g. imagining living someone else's life (or, to my mind, living a parallel life, somewhere else).
This will sound corny, but my own body showed me this week that improvement can come with the most minor change - even when I am "not feeling it" like I was today, but still maintained that faster pace, despite myself. While constant betterment does not come immediately, the natural surges are there.

Brush: Ewansim via DeviantART.

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