PAIN IS GOOD

When was the last time you ran so hard you thought your lungs and heart were going to burst out of your chest? Your head swims in a grey fog. Leaden arms dangle. Legs go rubbery like those bendable characters you see in gift stores. And this is just the result of sprinting to catch a bus or trying to catch butterflies. If you take the extra step and decide it's time to get in the killerest shape ever, your mind will have little arguments with you. Reminding you of the pleasantries of rest. Big hot pizzas. Ice cold beer. You find yourself saying "just two months. That's all i need." If i can weather the complaining for just 8 weeks, then i know my mind will be saying, "Pizza who?'" and "You know you really don't need that ice cream cone now do you?" Every spring it happens to me. I don't like what I'm seeing in the mirror so begin bike rides in earnest. And the running begins too. Up the river, over the hill and around the pond. I lift some weights after that and slowly watch as my body quiets down. Soon the nearby hill just doesn't burn the lungs enough. So i ride several miles out of town to a trail head, stash the bike in the bushes and run up the rocky trail into the wilderness. Clutching a water bottle, leaping over logs and hopping around boulders, i just run and run, a little further in each time. Headphones keep me from growing lonely. The music makes it seem that i am flying over the rough trail. Back home the sauna soothes tired muscles. Then i crawl into my burrow, throughly spent and fall into the deepest of sleeps. Upon awakening at 5AM i can't remember what day it is. Endorphins have stolen my reason. My mind has been opened to new possibilities. The body seeks more and more difficult pursuits. But the following day is a rest day. I am free! The hammock is my friend. All those torn muscles gather together, heal and form endurance. You can feel a strength emerging. All those daily stretchings have left me subtle. A really bad bonk on the head from riding under an unseen street sign scars but leaves no lasting damage. A crash on the Redfish Lake trail leaves a leg gashed and bruised, but it all quickly heals. I begin descents down wickedly dangerous trails. Careening with no apparent fear. Invincibility is within reach. So the mind goes. Where does this drive come from? Is it some lurking gene hidden in a muscle somewhere that drives one on? Or maybe some shared DNA from that All American grandfather? Maybe it's the televised Olympics or all those outdoor magazine photos that cause me to press on to achieve being in the best shape ever.Or maybe it's just that old lifelong quest to become that strong muscular man that i always wanted to be in all my thinness. Whatever the reasons, I am now 6 months in and all days flow with an unheard of magic. Another big hill ahead? Bring it on. Nearby hamburger smell attempting to draw me in? Give me that carrot. . All the stress of daily living? This too will pass. So in the end, all that pain was for the good. It has broadened my world. Made me a bigger person in more ways than one. HOBO

Comments

[deborah]

good job, starting is the hardest part....The olympics are very inspiring...Beach Volleyball, is amazing..go Kerri and Misty!!!!

[Jim]

Dan, how's the new book going (on drawing)? If you need someone to take if for a test drive before publication, I'm heading out of the country to Mongolia and would love to include drawing into my daily life there. Otherwise, I hope the writing is going well and that it's another great book.

PS Did you get my postcard from Halifax (after crossing Canada from Vancouver on a bike)?

[katrien]

Hi Dan,
Just got no. 65 in the mail, read it through in one go and it is one of your BEST chronicles to date (and I have read them all)! The drawings of the scenery are fantastic, and the writing is truly inspiring. I am rereading all of Jim Harrison's poetry and novels and novellas at the moment and no. 65 fit right in, somehow, with that mood. All that good (fume-free) oxygen your brain must be slurping up when your on the road on your trike really comes through.
Many thanks!
Katrien

[dan price]

thanks for all the comments. the online chronicles are almost ready to go. hopefully the readership will grow a bunch. Got that card jim. quite a rede! congratulations. that is a tough route for sure. watch for the last post on this blog soon. all blogging will continue on the new on-line m.c. site. hobo

[Lisa]

Dan: I just read the last of the newest MC's...thanks for sending them so quickly. I'm like a junkie when I get them, can't stop reading. You said no more books... you aren't writing the drawing book ?? I would never have started drawing if it wasn't for you. I think it would be great to see another book from you, although they are a whole lot of work. I'll bet John would like it too.
Here's a book for you to read... ECOTOPIA by Ernest Callenbach. And ECOTOPIA EMERGING. When you read these books, you will see Ecotopia starting to happen in this country, finally.

[jon]

Dan,

I'm a big time chronicles reader and sketchpad scribbler. My G-friend prairie and I will be in Joseph for a few days in the second week of september. If your around it would be fun to do some drawing.
jon

[Sophie]

Dan - I spent last summer hiking in the mountains in California, waking up before dawn, swimming in cold streams and hot springs. I'm spending this summer working in an office. Thank you for that breath of fresh air, reminding me of the true meaning of freedom! Loved "radical simplicity" (have you read "radically simple" by Jim Merkle?), and when I can find a cheque I'll order some Chronicles too (what happens if I send cash in the mail? From Canada?). Thanks Dan!

[dan price]

jon, i will be in beautiful santa barbara then working with simple shoes. sorry. thanks for all the cool comments peeps. hobo

[Blake Andrews]

Dan,

I read several of your Moonlight Chronicles in the late 90s, then lost track of them for a while. Recently I found your book of photos in a local store. I am a photographer and some your photos are absolutely wonderful, particularly the Diana stuff.

I run a blog related to photography (blakeandrews.blogspot.com) for which I sometimes interview people. Would you be interested in participating in an interview about your early photos, and how your thoughts have evolved concerning photography? I think email would be the most efficient way to do this. I couldn't find an email address for you so I'm contacting you via your blog.

Thanks for considering, and keep up the great work.

[dan price]

blake, sounds good to me. email is hoboartist@yahoo.com