Off and on during my adult life (starting in high school, so pre-adult life too) I have been a runner.  Among the side effects of running is not only is it a fine cardiovascular workout, which improves circulation, pumping more blood through the system, including the brain, and that should be good for writing and thinking, but it also can be the perfect time to work through plot problems or generate ideas.  I remember that I read an interview in Locus with Connie Willis, and then went on a run.  Something she said turned over in my head a few times during the run, and by the time I got back home, I had the complete story for "Nor a Lender Be," which Analog bought.

Unfortunately, I've been in the "off" period of my running for about a year, after running solidly for over two years.  I'm not sure what got me off the running regimen exactly, but going to the hospital for a kidney stone (boulder) removal seems to have been the precipitating event.

I bring this up because tonight was my second run in a row after not running for months and months.  I've put on twenty (thirty) pounds, and I'm not any younger.  The entire workout was painful and sad.

But I had a good idea during one of the gasping, shuffling, walking sessions in between the horrible, staggering running stretches.  I'm looking forward to writing it.

As I said, I'm twenty (thirty) pounds pounds overweight, and I'll never be a fast runner, but I like to do it.  It's a part of my effort to halt aging and never die.  As Garrison Keillor once said, "Sometimes you have to look reality firmly in the eye and deny it."

Here's a picture of one of the places I frequently run.  I can go low and stay at the canyon bottoms, or take the high route with beautiful overlooks at every turn. 

The high school where I teach is out in the valley beyond the cliff walls in the picture.  No matter how rough a day might be, I can look up into the canyons as I drive home.  Most high school teachers don't have the same luxury.