Run like the wind...or like Captain Picard

So I will admit that one of the most guilty and nerd-alerting pleasures I had as a child was watching Star Trek with my family. I was all about The Next Generation. Data was certainly the most interesting character and I had a crush on the young dude who's mom was the ship doctor...his name escapes me at the moment but the love still burns deep.

Thus it is no surprise that when I saw a Star Trek book laying on my father's side of the bed when I was in say 8th grade I picked that sucker up and starting indulging in a story about a young Captain Picard who was full of teen angst and contemplation. In the book, some of the best narratives were from when the man with the shiniest head is show business was running through his native country of France and looking around the countryside. I explicitly remember a line that made me feel like I could never be as cool as cap' because he talked about a sudden re-surgance of power, a rejuvination of sorts when he passed a certain physical barrier while running. There was a point he described when the soreness and the aching was gone and the body the ran on a fuel other than calories.

This was such an inspiring piece because I wanted very much to have the wisdom, boldness and charisma that the captain carries himself with. I saw the difference between himself and me being his ability to push through and run past that magical point when the pain of the run went away. Seeing that I had always had a mental block that stopped me from running, self-sabotaging myself whenever I came to a certain point, always allowing myself to quit before I really got anywhere I felt like attaining that point in running was not in my deck of cards. I thought that I would continue this love-hate relationship with running until I literally ran out of time.

Fortunately, today, I proved to myself that it is not so. I somehow managed to unclog all the self-administered blockades and just run run run. I was surprised that I got to 38 minutes, and then, the magical moment hit. My lungs were fine, not on fire like I expected them to be. My legs, well, they were sore, but they didn't feel like stopping, my legs wanted to run. Any my arms, they were also content at pumping away for what seemed like could turn into eternity. I was actually quite shocked at this revelation, so I kept on going. I ran for an hour. I did not think I could ever say that sentence and not be playing two truths and a lie. But upon reaching that magical point that I had read about in a Star Trek book so long ago I found that I could indeed be like Captain Picard. I think I will apply to Starfleet Academy in the morning. :)