So I try, in the short amount of time I have, to take care of all these things as best I can. And I have to keepup my running to prepare for the NYC Marathon. Evenif there were two of me, I still couldn‘t do all that has tobe done. No matter what, though, I keep up my run-ning. Running every day is a kind of lifeline for me, soI‘m not going to lay off or quit just because I‘m busy. If Iused being busy as an excuse not to run, I‘d never runagain. I have only a few reasons to keep on running, anda truckload of them to quit. All I can do is keep those fewreasons nicely polished. - P73
People sometimes sneer at those who run every day, claiming they‘ll go to any length to live longer. But Idon‘t think that‘s the reason most people run. Most run-ners run not because they want to live longer, butbecause they want to live life to the fullest. If you‘re - P82
going to while away the years, it‘s far better to live them with clear goals and fully alive than in a fog, and I believe running helps you do that. Exerting yourself to the fullest within your individual limits: that‘s the essence of running, and a metaphor for life-and for me, for writing as well. I believe many runners would agree. - P83
No-forget about beer. And forget about the sun. Forget about the wind. Forget about the article I have to write. Just focus on moving my feet forward, one afterthe other. That‘s the only thing that matters. - P64
This was my first-ever experience running (nearly) twenty-six miles. And, happily, it was the last time I everhad to run twenty-six miles in such grueling conditions. In December of the same year I ran the HonoluluMarathon in a fairly decent time. Hawaii was hot, butnothing compared to Athens. So Honolulu was my firstofficial full marathon. Ever since then it‘s been my prac-tice to run one full marathon a year.Rereading the article I wrote at the time of this run inGreece, I‘ve discovered that after twenty-some years, and as many marathons later, the feelings I have when Irun twenty-six miles are the same as back then. Evennow, whenever I run a marathon my mind goes throughthe same exact process. Up to nineteen miles I‘m sure Ican run a good time, but past twenty-two miles I run outof fuel and start to get upset at everything. And at the - P67
end I feel like a car that‘s run out of gas. But after I finishand some time has passed, I forget all the pain and mis-ery and am already planning how I can run an even bet-ter time in the next race. The funny thing is, no matterhow much experience I have under my belt, no matterhow old I get, it‘s all just a repeat of what came before.I think certain types of processes don‘t allow for anyvariation. If you have to be part of that process, all youcan do is transform-or perhaps distort-yourselfthrough that persistent repetition, and make that pro-cess a part of your own personality.Whew! - P68
OneRight now I‘m aiming at increasing the distance Irun, so speed is less of an issue. As long as I can run acertain distance, that‘s all I care about. Sometimes I runfast when I feel like it, but if I increase the pace Ishorten the amount of time I run, the point being to letthe exhilaration I feel at the end of each run carry overto the next day. This is the same sort of tack I find neces- - P4
sary when writing a novel. I stop every day right at thepoint where I feel I can write more. Do that, and thenext day‘s work goes surprisingly smoothly. I think ErnestHemingway did something like that. To keep on going, you have to keep up the rhythm. This is the important thing for long-term projects. Once you set the pace, therest will follow. The problem is getting the flywheel tospin at a set speed-and to get to that point takes asmuch concentration and effort as you can manage. - P5
As I run I tell myself to think of a river. And clouds. But essentially I‘m not thinking of a thing. All I do iskeep on running in my own cozy, homemade void, myown nostalgic silence. And this is a pretty wonderful thing. No matter what anybody else says. - P23
Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional.
Foreword One runner told of a mantra his older brother, also arunner, had taught him which he‘s pondered ever sincehe began running. Here it is: Pain is inevitable. Suffer-ing is optional. Say you‘re running and you start tothink, Man this hurts, I can‘t take it anymore. The hurtpart is an unavoidable reality, but whether or not youcan stand any more is up to the runner himself. Thispretty much sums up the most important aspect ofmarathon running.
거북이처럼 움츠러들어 자기만의 생각에 잠기는, 목사인 아빠와 낯선 곳으로 이사 온 Opal. 우연히 만나 함께 살게 된 Winn-dixie 덕분에 지금 여기 없는 엄마를 그리워만 하는 것이 아닌, 지금 여기 함께 하는 이웃과 아빠를 현재의 모습으로 받아들이고 이해하며 친구가 된다. 물론 Winn-dixie 덕분만은 아니다. Opal이 받아들일 준비가 된 아이이기 때문이다. 사랑스런 이야기다.
