Runs Writes Code

I would bet that everyone with a decent level of fitness has had those days when running felt so amazingly easy it took on a Zen-like quality. My mind has never felt so entirely at peace as on the Fife coastal path on a clear day. The usual buzz of thoughts, of tasks undone, problems unsolved, melts away and there is just the sea and the sky and the ground moving smoothly beneath my feet. This is as close to pure meditation as you can get without candles. Yet it has taken me years to realise that I run best when my mind and body work together, not when I use my mind to overpower my body, to force it to move faster and for longer than it ‘thinks’ is a good idea. It is true that in order to improve as a runner you have to get quite close to the edge, to push out one more rep when your lungs are burning and you feel like there’s a monkey on your back. But it is also true that there is a really fine line between success and failure, between improving as a runner and getting injured.