With three great training days behind me, I was looking forward to today, my Cool Impossible Wednesday. I like to devote Wednesdays to getting out for a long run and using this as a creative time for myself. While writing The Cool Impossible, I found that I wrote best by composing my thoughts while running, taking mental notes and riffing on a subject.
My mind gets very creative while running and today was no different as I ran the trails of Cache Creek. My mind wandered with thoughts as my legs meandered up, down, and around the very hilly terrain of Cache - a great strength run. Today, thoughts were just flowing out of me, thoughts of how athletes think to performance well and how I believe there is a "best way" of thinking to perform - just as I believe there is a best way to run and train.
I was running high up on Snow King and past a skier being coached how to make great turns. People never think twice about taking a ski lesson to learn, but runners often do not think running is a skill that can be learned. Some of the first skis date back to 8000 B.C. In fact, Chinese skiers in the Northwestern part of China where known to persistent hunt for elk on skis. Not unlike native peoples who persistent hunt on foot, running them to fatigue after many hours.
These Chinese skiers and native runners, like the Tarahumara Indians, developed great skill out of lifestyle necessity that is lost on us today. This is what my Cool Impossible Wednesday is all about. Devoting a day to truly and authentically living the lifestyle I have chosen and dreamed about for myself. This is not about mountains or cool wildlife, it is a mindset that can be harnessed anywhere, like in Oxford. We all have a story and dreams no matter where we live.
I just read a book about the Polish Alpinists of the 1980s and 1990s. They were distinct in mountaineering because they created their own style, one of 8,000 meter winter ascents by new routes in the Himalaya. This was never done before. The Cool Impossible is just this, creating your own dreams and "style".
As I finished my run, I crossed paths with a women from France. I gave her a smile and said "Hi" and she offered up a bigger smile and said, "hillo, furst timm, so buutiful." What style!!
Here's to Cool Impossible Wednesday and your own style - and it's gonna be a great year!
Cool Impossible Wednesday Video
Today's Run Time: 90 minutes
AVG HR: 142
Max HR: 170
Ascent: 1600 ft
Mantra: "Trust and Create"
