Dharma Running

Last updated on: June 14, 2009 at 5:45 pm by Justin Whitaker

Dharma Running 2009-06-14T17:45:00-06:00 Justin Whitaker

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

6.3 miles, 55 minutes.
There’s little out there to put you in touch with interconnectedness like running. Add steep inclines, old guys running circles around you, steep declines and a body with a few extra pounds and dukkha becomes a central lesson as well.

This morning I ran an unofficial version of the Pengelly Single Dip. I had planned to run the official version, but must have been smoking something when I checked the date (it was yesterday). So I had the options of going back to sleep or running the race on my own. Oddly enough, the decision to run it on my own was easy. I’d studied the map (recalling the discomfort of my last sanctioned run) and I was on my way.

Anatomy of the Race:

I started at 8:35 at a modest pace along a flat trail – the start and finish are the blue dot at the top of the map. Just before I set off an older guy passed by me. From his face and white mustache I’d guess he was in his 50s, but he was built like a 26 year-old Olympian, decked out with all the gear of a serious runner. My pace brought me closer and closer to him in the flats until, after half a mile and at the base of Mt. Sentinel’s “M” trail, I passed him. We exchanged friendly greetings and I was on my way.

The “M” trail is a series of 14 switchbacks, varying in length and grade. I managed to run the first one, a long, relatively flat stretch. After that I alternated running and long-stride walking until I was over the “M”. Along the way the old guy caught up; he had been using the same technique, going a bit faster.

This time he said I had a great pace “for my size” (was he calling me fat? No… Just ‘big-framed’).

I joked that I had some extra on the belly to lose and then I’d be fine and he laughed and replied, “don’t we all?”
“Are you training for something?” he asked.
“Yea, maybe the marathon, but we’ll see.”
“I’ve got a 52 mile trail run next week,” he informed me.
“Nice,” I thought to myself, “this guy probably has grandkids boppin’ on his knees one weekend and is off running ultra-marathons in the mountains the next.”
What I actually said was, “Wow, good luck!” to which he smiled and said thanks as he resumed his running.

Above the “M” was 1.5 miles according to my pedometer; .5 on the flats and 1 mile of climbing approximately 600 feet of vertical. At that point my friend was a good 150 feet ahead of me and my legs felt like jelly, perfect for the downhill.

Now you’d think downhill would be nice at this point, perhaps relaxing even. But no. It’s brutal. You need to negotiate two opposing forces: speed and control. I manage to find balance by speeding up until I can feel the impacts in my mid-back, then tilting a tiny bit forward and maintaining that posture and speed.

I read a book about 2 years ago on “Chi Running” that taught something like a holistic method for running. “Remember the pure joy of running as a child?” it begins – or so I remember, “and the Kenyans who seem to effortlessly sprint the Boston marathon each year?” And then think of all the middle-aged pudgy Westerners lumbering along like drunken, two-legged rhinos on your local tracks. What’s the difference? “Tilt.”

It sounds crazy, and maybe it is, but learning the right tilt when running – leaning forward a bit at the hips (NOT the midsection) – is supposed to engage the big back muscles going all the way up to your shoulders. Running like a rhino, chest puffed and neck back, makes the legs do all the work. No wonder it doesn’t look like fun.

I’ve tried since then to run like a kid, to tilt, to have fun, and it’s worked pretty well thus far.

At about 2.5 miles (approximately the second blue marker above, mid-mountain) the road is relatively flat and the joy of simply running, neither struggling up nor struggling not to fall down, gives an extra boost of energy. The ultra-marathoner is now about 300 feet ahead of me and my competitive spirit desperately wants to pass him again. But to no avail. He’s at a good pace and my legs tell me they aren’t sprinting at this point, even for a couple hundred yards.

At 3.5 miles I finally reach the turn-around point and I’m deeply suspicious of the organizers’ claim that this is an “about 5 miles” run. Here the downhill is at times precarious. I allow myself to reach a break-neck, childlike (foolish) pace and then try to slow down. I begin by putting my arms out like an airplane, thinking perhaps the wind-resistance will help. It doesn’t. So it’s out with the graceful strides and in with hard steps, each one pounding my foot into the ground.

Just as I learned that the shoulders and knees are intimately connected on the gentle down-slopes, here I’m finding new connections. My love-handles have found my rhythm and are tugging sharply downward with each pounding step. And with them are my eyelids (who’da guessed?).

Finally at 4 miles I check the time: 40 minutes, not bad. By then I was nearly off the hill and onto city streets, and more importantly, the flat. My pace picks up and steadies and it’s easy-going for the last two miles.

Stretching at my car, I see the old guy approaching again on the same trail where I first encountered him. We share waves and he congratulates me again for my pace as he jogs on by.

It’s a joy to see what my body will put up with and a joy to see others enjoying theirs to the fullest as well. Like our minds, the body is a muscle: treat it well and use it and it will do amazing things. The effort must be smart, don’t overdo it. But it must also be sustained, don’t get distracted or discouraged.

Our spiritual lives are the same, they require steady work or they will stagnate. And sometimes the work is unpleasant. There will never be a lack of ‘easier’ activities to distract us in this world. But maturity means recognizing that more often than not, the easy activities are the least fulfilling.

Uncategorized

Previous Post

June 13, 2009

The Divine Abiding

Next Post

June 15, 2009 Zen Noir: A Review

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Academia Activism American Buddhism Art Book review Buddhism Buddhism Today Buddhist Ethics Burma/Myanmar China Christianity Commodification Environment Gender Happiness Health Humor India Interfaith Islam Japanese Buddhism Kant Media / News Meditation mindfulness Photography Poetry Politics quicktakes Running Teaching Technology Thailand Theism/Atheism Theravada Tibet Tibetan Buddhism Travels Uncategorized Unitarian Universalism video Western Philosophy Zen

Select a Month June 2021 January 2021 November 2020 August 2020 July 2020 March 2020 January 2020 October 2019 August 2019 June 2019 May 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 November 2004 September 2004 August 2004

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz