Zen and the Art of Trail Running - stupid title, I know.

So I'm reading this at the moment: Zen Wrapped in Karma Dipped in Chocolate: A Trip Through Death, Sex, Divorce, and Spiritual Celebrity in Search of the True Dharma. Great book. As much as I like Brad Warner, the Zen teacher/monk who wrote the series of books (of which this is the third), he's a hot and cold writer. This book, luckily for me, is hot. If you want Zen and diversion, read his first book, Hardcore Zen, and then read this one. Book 2, while good, is a bit, ummmm... dry and more technical. Warner is best when he's telling simple stories from his life and not relying too much on Buddhist theory to interpret them. 

Anyway, I just finished my 83rd straight day with a zazen sit. I'm neither proud,nor ashamed of that fact (even though my app, Insight Timer rewards me with stars for every 10 consecutive day period I complete). Rather, I do notice that practicing allows me to bring meditation and 'the now' more readily into my life. I am more aware of what is actually happening. I'm also much more aware of emotions. I notice them - where they come from, how they feel, from what point in my body do they seem to emanate, etc... It is very interesting to be able to really lock in, albeit briefly, from time to time.

I popped down to Huntsville, TX last weekend to help pace my buddy, Bill, in his attempt to break 24 hours in the Rocky Raccoon 100 mile race. I won't go into everything that happened - or maybe I will, but in a later post - but suffice it to say, Bill is a monster runner who crushed 24 hours. I ran the 60-80 mile leg with him. I can honestly say that I've never paced anyone faster at that point in an ultra marathon. I actually had to tell him to slow down and conserve some energy for later. He really just cruised through the course.

I returned home on Monday, and mainly ran on treadmills and did a couple of running rounds (2-3 mi) on a local disc golf course. Nothin major.

This morning I hit the Clinton North Shore trails at their western terminus. Another buddy, Mike, wanted to run Bunker Hill and then hit the trails. It was pretty cold, but beautiful. See the pic below, taken by Mike Miley at the top of Bunker Hill.

We ran up the hill and around the back side before hitting the trails. It was a lovely run that grew warmer as we progressed. The only negative moment for me was when I took my first ever actual rumble on the N. Shore trails. I missed a little root/stump in the trail and went flying. I got a quick calf cramp and a bloody knee as a result. But honestly, if I only have a fall once every 8-10 years on those trails, I'm good to go.

Once the cramp settled, we scooted back to the trail head. Mike, like the running machine that he is, ran on for one last assault of Bunker Hill. I decided not to tempt my calf to fire again, and simply drove home. All in all, a lovely way to spend a morning.