Marathon
On Sunday I run my marathon. I am simultaneously looking forward to it and not looking forward to it. I am dreading the pain, but I am also incredibly curious about what condition I will be in near the end of the race and thereafter. I am also wondering what I will do with my free time once I have finished and how I will explain the experience to others (so far, I’m planning to say “eh, whatever”).
A marathon is a fairly basic concept- it is simply a run of one hundred thirty-eight thousand three hundred thirty-six feet. Still, it gets a lot of attention as if it is greater than just that. Sure, the marathon is obviously a long grueling race that places a severe amount of physical pain on the body. It is not just pain that the body must deal with, though. A marathon takes between two and seven hours to complete. Whether one is an Olympic runner or a fatty in one’s fifties, there is a whole lot of time to one thing- think.
Thinking. Thinking about pain. Thinking about soreness. Thinking about distance. Thinking about one’s own ability. Thinking about one’s own worth. Thinking about whether one can finish. Thinking about whether one can quit.
Normally, we try to avoid thinking too much on our own. Boredom and loneliness kick in perhaps as a defense mechanism. People that spend too much time alone thinking end up going crazy. Like the Unibomber or homeless people, they end up talking to themselves about insane theories and lose the ability to socialize properly. I think most of fear jail not because of beat downs and shower rape, but because of the years and years dedicated to thinking and being alone. Certainly the abundance of time to think was one of the worst parts of being unemployed and, ironically, is one of the worst parts of being employed as well.
It seems odd that there is optimal amount of the thinking self to deal with on a day-to-day basis. We become irritable and crabby when we have too little “me time” yet too much is also intolerable. Sunday will be between four and five hours with myself and it is a self that will be in a lot of pain.
It will likely be a difficult meeting. I hope I can tolerate it.
A marathon is a fairly basic concept- it is simply a run of one hundred thirty-eight thousand three hundred thirty-six feet. Still, it gets a lot of attention as if it is greater than just that. Sure, the marathon is obviously a long grueling race that places a severe amount of physical pain on the body. It is not just pain that the body must deal with, though. A marathon takes between two and seven hours to complete. Whether one is an Olympic runner or a fatty in one’s fifties, there is a whole lot of time to one thing- think.
Thinking. Thinking about pain. Thinking about soreness. Thinking about distance. Thinking about one’s own ability. Thinking about one’s own worth. Thinking about whether one can finish. Thinking about whether one can quit.
Normally, we try to avoid thinking too much on our own. Boredom and loneliness kick in perhaps as a defense mechanism. People that spend too much time alone thinking end up going crazy. Like the Unibomber or homeless people, they end up talking to themselves about insane theories and lose the ability to socialize properly. I think most of fear jail not because of beat downs and shower rape, but because of the years and years dedicated to thinking and being alone. Certainly the abundance of time to think was one of the worst parts of being unemployed and, ironically, is one of the worst parts of being employed as well.
It seems odd that there is optimal amount of the thinking self to deal with on a day-to-day basis. We become irritable and crabby when we have too little “me time” yet too much is also intolerable. Sunday will be between four and five hours with myself and it is a self that will be in a lot of pain.
It will likely be a difficult meeting. I hope I can tolerate it.
posted by American Dilettante at
4:19 PM
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