Mental maps

To improve the chances of running injury free, I've gone to Aurora to warm up and stretch before I run outside, picking up on my early spring Aurora workout but dropping the treadmill part. So I'm learning a network of trails on the grounds of Bangor Castle, which is next to Aurora.

My little insight of the day is how I learn my way around. If I look at a map with a bunch of red, green, and blue trails, that doesn't really help me when I'm running. I have to learn things by sight, learn the landmarks, the topography, how each trail relates to another. This is a very inefficient way to learn. I get lost a lot, I get frustrated, I have to do it many times to get the geography in my head. The sad thing is Bangor Castle grounds isn't that large, but there are just enough trails snaking through it that I have to keep trying new paths to learn how they connect (or the same path over and over again until I realize the pattern).

The epiphany is this: running on new trails is no different than life in general for me. I have to hit dead ends over and over again, I have to get lost over and over again before I learn--the hard way--what the pattern is and what the markers are that will help me move forward and not in circles.

I know other people have better analytical skills, better memories, better ability to recognize patterns. I envy them. I spend a lot of time on the wrong trail, not exactly sure where I am or if I'm going in the right direction. I'm sure there's value in my approach as well--sometimes we make wonderful discoveries when we are lost--but it is frustrating.
7/22