On Thursday I went out to the Indiana Dunes to run run my favorite route-Trail #9. It's a great winter day to run. Although it's cloudy, there's not much wind so the weather seems mild even though the temperature is still below freezing. There are only two other cars in the parking lot at Wilson's Shelter. It's easy to imagine that I'm the only person here. For the first half hour I see nobody. As I crest a small hill about a mile from the end of the run, I see a guy walking along in front of me. He's got a walking stick in his right hand but he's not using it. He's just swinging it as he walks along. This guy has done nothing to suggest he knows I'm closing in on him. I'm now only about 20 meters behind him. It's time to announce my presence.
"Hello," I shout. He seems to jump a foot in the air.
As I pass him he replies, "My mind was a mile away!"
"Sorry," I say,"Go ahead back there."
I go around a corner and up and over a small hill. I don't look back, but, I know he's out of sight behind me. Soon my mind is a mile away again too.
How often have I had this experience-countless times. I've heard it referred to as a "runner's high" but it it seems anyone can experience it.
Professor Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi (pronounced "CHICK-sent-me-high-ee")coined the term Flow to describe the sensation runners and others have experienced but have trouble describing. He's written several books about it. It's like Michael Jordan being in "the zone."
I'm a member of the coach's association in Indiana. The IATCCC coaches clinic in late January 2008 has a speaker giving a presentation entitled "Flow Theory: The Path to Peak Performance." I don't know about that, but, I'm fairly sure it's the path to peak experiences-a winter run at the dunes.
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