I did go ahead and reduce my distance for my last long run. It was “only” 6.88 miles instead of 7.31, so that’s, technically, a reduction. The wind was reversed again though so I ended up running against it on the way home. I really do need to figure out a route in the other direction for those days.
I wasn’t in nearly as much pain after this run as I was after last weeks, though there are some lingering ankle and foot aches that I need to tend to. And, really, it’s when I’m done running that I realize just how cold and sore I’ve made myself. Especially cold, this time of year.
Although, I did do something interesting. I’ve been practicing Chi Running. One of the principles thereof is that one uses Chi to direct the running. The energy flows from, kind of, the spine and the impetus for all the motion should come through there. Well, despite my layers of clothing, I was getting cold around mile 5, running into the wind. So I thought about using my Chi to send waves of heat from my spine to the rest of my body, but especially to my hands and feet.
A few minutes later, holding that thought and trying to actively accomplish that feat, I realized my hands were like little balls of warmth inside my shirt sleeves. It felt like I was holding invisible hand warmers.
Now, when I got home, I realized that I was still very cold. My legs, especially, were radiating cold when I got home. But while I was running and moving and holding the idea of my Chi spreading heat through my body, I felt warm in spite of the wind.
And that led me to consider that if I can warm myself with my thoughts, what else can they do? What can my subconscious do to my body if I let it?
