We suppose it was an interesting week to consume Chasing The Runner's High by Ray Charbonneau. We go on a long, snowy, sub-zero run and two days later, maybe coincidentally, maybe not, we are so sick we don't, can't, run for another seven days, unable to escape the shivers, unable to bare the cold and conditions, yet unable to not keep plotting, planning, and wondering when we will run next, what morning or night, before or after work, between stuff with the kids, wife and writing, always wondering when there will be an opportunity, and when we feel good enough to get out, because that's what we do, everyday, wonder when, and how, plotting and planning and not seeking perfection or time, just wanting, and needing, to get out, which we finally did yesterday before coming home and finishing the book. And that's the thing, well one thing anyway, about the book, it is all about plotting and planning, obsession, all of it, and we get that, but its about something else as well, not just wanting more, but having to obtain it, better times, more miles, life out of balance, control, masochism, and we almost get that too, and yet ultimately we don't, we've never quite crossed-over, but we've thought about it, and so as runners, and writers, this book is a gift, a book we might have killed for in high school, certainly begged for, because books like these weren't written then, or at least published, and so there was little to read about our most compulsive of compulsions, much less any way to know whether other people were like this. And yet, its more than that as well, because ultimately this is a book about addiction and craving and all we will do to fill that kind of void, something we can again just almost relate to, but again, not quite, which makes Chasing The Runners High much less and much more than a running book at the same time, because it is a book that is also ultimately about gaining control over your life by being less in control, being in balance by focusing on all elements of who we are at the same time, and finding pleasure in something that once was, but no longer is, allowed to dominate your every thought.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
This Book Will Change Your Life - Chasing The Runner's High by Ray Charbonneau
We suppose it was an interesting week to consume Chasing The Runner's High by Ray Charbonneau. We go on a long, snowy, sub-zero run and two days later, maybe coincidentally, maybe not, we are so sick we don't, can't, run for another seven days, unable to escape the shivers, unable to bare the cold and conditions, yet unable to not keep plotting, planning, and wondering when we will run next, what morning or night, before or after work, between stuff with the kids, wife and writing, always wondering when there will be an opportunity, and when we feel good enough to get out, because that's what we do, everyday, wonder when, and how, plotting and planning and not seeking perfection or time, just wanting, and needing, to get out, which we finally did yesterday before coming home and finishing the book. And that's the thing, well one thing anyway, about the book, it is all about plotting and planning, obsession, all of it, and we get that, but its about something else as well, not just wanting more, but having to obtain it, better times, more miles, life out of balance, control, masochism, and we almost get that too, and yet ultimately we don't, we've never quite crossed-over, but we've thought about it, and so as runners, and writers, this book is a gift, a book we might have killed for in high school, certainly begged for, because books like these weren't written then, or at least published, and so there was little to read about our most compulsive of compulsions, much less any way to know whether other people were like this. And yet, its more than that as well, because ultimately this is a book about addiction and craving and all we will do to fill that kind of void, something we can again just almost relate to, but again, not quite, which makes Chasing The Runners High much less and much more than a running book at the same time, because it is a book that is also ultimately about gaining control over your life by being less in control, being in balance by focusing on all elements of who we are at the same time, and finding pleasure in something that once was, but no longer is, allowed to dominate your every thought.
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2 comments:
As an addict and a runner, but not an addicted runner, I'll check the book out. Thanks for posting. -Ryk
It should satisfy all of your compulsions and addictions, both individually and holistically.
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