The Gum Tree for 2005 January 21

Life has been pretty boring. One good thing that has been happening is that I have been running everyday early in the morning. I have certainly felt much better since. That is a little tribute to Uncle Roy who I know was an avid Runner. I am also going to sign up for the St. George Marathon. Ever since I was a teenager I had the goal to run a marathon, and with me taking a year off from school, I have enough time to kill working on the "special interest" side of my resume. I really love running and the feeling of wellbeing that comes with it. Interestingly, I think that most people use their bodies as a kind of entertainment tool from which they can gain certain epicurean pleasures. I have lately started taking my heart rate, and doing a scientific evaluation of what my body can do. It is a truely wonderful and awesome machine. I want to take it out for a test drive and see exactly what it can take, the limits and the performance. I am also intrigued by how the nervous system works in controlling the body. After 30 min or so of running at a nice 60-75% the oxygen capacity of the body, the nervous system just kinda takes over and you don't even have to think about moving your legs. It just happens in the same kind of way that people with autism do their repetitive rocking or spinning of the ball in the corner. Funny, Mom has always wondered if there was a little bit of autism or obsessive compulsion in me. Perhaps my fetish with running is a result of my inate compusive nature. The world will never know. Life is always good though. I am happy and it is nice to live a prosaic, mundane life. It is there in the ordinary moments when remarkable things happen.