Because I run alot, people ask me: what do you think about when you run? Well, if I am running at a slower pace, I think a myriad of things, not unlike what people when they are walking, or shopping, or generally milling about. However, if I am running at a faster and harder pace, my thinking is directly affected by my run. If I am having a difficult run and I am experiencing alot of pain and suffering, my thoughts automatically turn very dark. I will suddenly notice this, for it creeps up on me. It’s as if I am trying to tune out the difficulty my body is having, so my mind starts having dark fantasies and thoughts. And that form of thinking makes the run even harder: it’s like a downward spiral. Whenever that happens, I either cut the run short or ease back on the tempo until I start to feel (and think) better.
The flip side of that is when I am having a very good run, I start thinking very creatively and imaginatively. It’s as if my mind is freed up to think this way. For example, tonight I was thinking of an essay I read by Sara Ruddick on maternal thinking and how it relates to Martin Buber’s I and Thou and how, while it relates to Buber’s ontological thinking, it differs in that a maternal relationship is symbiotic to a degree and that defines a different form of identity and relationship than Buber’s. And I thought about other things, like…well…running and epiphenomenalism!🙂 And I think if anything illustrates empirically that epiphenomenalism — either weak or strong — is not true, then I think my runs do that. (Not to mention one of the reasons why I like to run.)
-
- My name is Bernie Michalik. Thanks for visiting my blog!
Random Post
If you want to go to a random post on the blog, click here. It's all good. :)Blog Stats
- 897,590 hits
Recent Comments
My Tag Cloud
advice AI amazon apple apps architecture art Books cities cloud computers cooking cool culture decor design DIY economics Facebook fashion favourites Feedly fitness food fun furniture google history home humour ibm ideas IFTTT Internet iphone IT life Midnight money music nyc nytimes nytimes.com oldposterous Piketty politics Posterous privacy productivity programming Recently Read recipe recipes robots running Saved for Later science socialmedia software sports technology thoughts tools Toronto tourism travel tutorial twitter vox watch web wine work writing youtubeThis blog’s QR Code
Blogs I read often
Archives
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- December 2015
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- August 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- December 2014
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- August 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- August 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- August 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- October 2010
- September 2010
- August 2010
- July 2010
- June 2010
- May 2010
- April 2010
- March 2010
- February 2010
- January 2010
- December 2009
- November 2009
- October 2009
- September 2009
- August 2009
- July 2009
- June 2009
- May 2009
- April 2009
- March 2009
- February 2009
- January 2009
- December 2008
- November 2008
- October 2008
- September 2008
- August 2008
- July 2008
- June 2008
- May 2008
- April 2008
- March 2008
- February 2008
- January 2008
- December 2007
- November 2007
- September 2007
- August 2007
- July 2007
- June 2007
- May 2007
- April 2007
Top Rated
Top Posts
- Why I buy suits from Zara
- How to wear brown and blue together
- Dealing with an iPad saying "iCloud Backup This iPad hasnt been backed up in 5 weeks"
- How to Set the time on a Phillipe Starck Watch
- "The people you love become ghosts inside of you and like this you keep them alive".
- Baked eggs are perfect: simple, nutritious, delicious, and elegant
- There is no Helvetica in Microsoft Word, just Arial
- The oddly negative articles of Konrad Yakabuski in the Globe and Mail
- Black Humor 101
- A simple example of how to set up a PHP-MySQL application in IBM Bluemix (including the code you need)
Pages
It seems like a lot of people around me are runners, and some of my own friends have recently taken up running. Maybe its a sign I should too. When I run (which isn’t very often lately) I usually get the creative thoughts going like you described when doing a good run. I just wish I could jot down notes.
There are pros and cons to running (vs other sports). I like it because it is low cost/low maintainance, and I don’t have any injuries. But I also like swimming for clearing my mind and freeing it up for creative thinking, and I think cyclists get the same thing. Solitary sports of all kind are good for that.