BORN TO RUN Insight

I just finished reading Born To Run by Christopher McDougall. The book is awesome and I highly recommend it. Although I had started running again before reading the book, now that I'm done, I feel a new inspiration for running. Normally, running for me has been about pushing through the pain, testing the limits, doing the grind. After reading this book, I think my outlook has been skewed. While running is and can be about all of the things listed above, those things don't have to be a struggle. The pain I've experienced is increased exponentially by my anxiety about its onset. As soon as I start feeling some of that pain associated with running hard, my anxiety jumps through the roof..."How long can I deal with this? Can I deal with this? Do I want to deal with this? Holy crap, its getting worse!!". I end up talking myself into feeling pain and paying attention to it. What the hell? Once in awhile though, I GET IT. The pain is comfortable. I LIKE IT. I've relaxed into it, and I am no longer afraid. This enjoyment happens when I pay attention to the beautiful things about running. I get to experience a lot of nature and a lot of the area I live in by running. I get into a fluid stride, a rythm of movement. When I start to pay attention to these things, my anxiety drops and the pain becomes a pleasure. Its not even pain anymore. The running isn't a grind, its a pursuit. I am testing the limits and breaking through new barriers each time I go out, which is beautiful in itself.
Thats the message Christopher McDougall is trying to convey. Running is not a means to an end, but an end in itself. Running for the sake of running. Running as a part of life. This is my new view on running. Every part of it is enjoyable. No pressure, just have fun.

Below is a video from Barefoot Ted, one of the runners in the book. An overview of the Copper Canyons and some of the runners that ran in the first Copper Canyon Ultramarathon.