I might have written about this before. But isn’t a blog a conversation?
Tell me, how many times does your spouse (best friend) bring up the same
subject? There are two response threads. One: Don’t bother me with that again.
Second: Really? I’d love to hear what you’re thinking about (subject here).
Which brings me to core values. It bears repeating. I firmly believe that
I would not be looking forward to competing in a half-marathon in October (Bay
Ridge, Brooklyn, under the Verrazano Bridge! More likely I’d be making like
Malcolm Lowry and be “Under the Volcano”) if I had not seriously taken up the
strengthening and stretching exercises that my physical therapists thrust on me
after my knee gave out last October.
That means core strength: lunges, squats, leg raises (both front and
back, in order to engage butt muscles), sit ups. Run on Day One (typically from
30 minutes to an hour), do a hard 30 minutes of core strength exercises on Day
Two. Repeat.
Simple stuff, huh? Today, I ran for an hour before work. Tomorrow, I’ll
write and stretch-strengthen. The proof is in how you feel. When I finish a run
and begin the big cleanup before work, I’ll close my eyes and ask myself how
old do you feel. Thirty? Twenty?
These core values have worked to keep a dream alive for me. I couldn’t
recommend more highly the idea of such a regimen.
Next: Running for Your Life: More Summer
Reading
