a stupid blog title. but i've always hated writing titles or captions. they're labels, and labels always deceive. they're never true.

i'm about to head out for a 5-mile run. big whoop? not for me. it's been just a short time since i began to understand that i can run more simply and more effectively. Christopher McDougall's amazing book "Born to Run" is a big part of this, but before that, listening to the audiobook of Haruki Murakami's "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running" really made a huge impact on me. Murakami is a writer, and for him, running is not about getting in touch with the true and ancient roots of being a human being; it's about staying fit and sane enough so he can keep writing.

for me, of course, it's about both. i am an essentialist (there i go with a label). my goal is always to get the core, the heart, the (little-t) truth of things — the essence. i want to become strong, fit and sane so i can become the writer i know i can be. i always want to run the way humans evolved to run. and yesterday, for the very first time, accidentally, i did just that. i ran on the flats of my feet and not the heels (although i'm now going to try to be a bit more "correct" and see if i can land on the balls) and i ran upright. for the first time ever, i ran with my breath unobstructed. i ran fast and easy. it was wonderful. by repeating this, day after day, for weeks and then months, i will soon be able to run, to write and be free of limits and criticisms i have spent a life nourishing.

later.