Chapter 5 Chapter Four

Chapter 4 Tokyo September 19, 2005 Much of the way I write my novels I learned while running along the road every morning On September 10, I left Kauai and returned to Japan for a two-week stay. In Japan, I drive between my apartment and office in Tokyo and my home in Kanagawa Prefecture.Naturally, I still insist on running during this period, but I have not returned to China for a long time, and many tasks are waiting in a long line for me, and I have to deal with them one by one.There are many others who must be seen.So I can no longer run freely like I was in August.So I had no choice but to run long distances whenever I had time.During my stay in Japan, I ran 20 kilometers twice and 30 kilometers once.The rhythm of running ten kilometers a day was maintained at least.

I also consciously practice running the ramp.Around my house, there is a jogging track with undulating circular ramps. The height difference may be as high as five or six floors. I ran 21 times around it, and the time was one hour and forty-five minutes.It was an unusually hot day, so it was quite tiring.The New York City Marathon is almost a flat route, but a total of seven large bridges have to be passed, most of which are in the form of suspension bridges, with a high rise in the center.I've run the New York City Marathon three times, and the long ups and downs are surprisingly tiring.

And the ramp at the end of the route, after entering Central Park, has even more ups and downs, and always slows down here every time.The slope in Central Park is quite gentle, and it doesn’t feel difficult at all when you practice fitness running in the morning. However, when you come here in the final stage of the marathon, it is like a cliff blocking you in front of you, storing your strength to the last point. Take it without mercy.Although Chi Zha encourages himself to "reach the end soon", what is moving forward is only the mood, and the end is never approaching.The throat is thirsty, but the stomach no longer demands water.The muscles in the legs began to scream, also in this area.

I'm not bad at running ramps.Once there is a ramp on the route, it is always there to pass other runners, so the ramp is still welcome.But that last ramp in Central Park always makes me feel frustrated every time.I really want to run the last few kilometers easily, sprint with all my strength, and cross the finish line with a smile on my face.This is one of my goals for this competition. Even if the amount of practice has decreased, the practice should not be interrupted for more than two days. This is the basic rule when accumulating the amount of running.Muscle is much like an animal with a good memory, it can adapt and bear it naturally as long as you pay attention to increasing the load in stages.Use examples to persuade the muscles repeatedly: "You must complete these tasks." It will "understand" and its strength will gradually increase.Of course it takes time.Enslaved too much and it will malfunction.However, if you are willing to spend time and proceed step by step, it will have no complaints, and will only occasionally grimace, tenaciously and obediently continue to improve its toughness.Through repetition, the memory of "must do these jobs well" is input into the muscles.Our muscles are very disciplined.As long as we strictly follow the procedures, it will be without complaint or hatred.

If you don't give it a load for a few days, the muscle will say to itself: "Oh, there is no need to work so hard. Oh, that's great." It will lower the limit of its own tolerance.Muscle is no different from a flesh-and-blood animal, and it is willing to live a more comfortable life. If it does not continue to burden it, it will erase the memory with peace of mind.If you want to enter it again, you have to start from the beginning and repeat the same pattern.Rest is necessary.However, in the important period when the game is imminent, it is necessary to give an ultimatum to the muscle seriously, and convey to it an unequivocal message: "This is not at all sloppy!" Of course it cannot be overloaded, but it must be with It maintains an unrelenting tension.Experienced runners will naturally be able to deal with the intrigue.

During my stay in Japan, a new collection of short stories was published.Several interviews are required for this.The proofs for the music review book, which is scheduled to be released in November, need to be revised, and the cover design needs to be negotiated.The proofs of the paperback "The Works of Raymond Carver," which will be published in a book series next year, will be revised.Taking advantage of the change to paperback this time, I plan to completely revise the existing translations, which will also take time.I also have to write a long preface to my short story collection "Blind Willow, Sleeping Girl" which will be released in the United States next year.At the same time, I have to sneak in from time to time—not commissioned by anyone—to write about running as tirelessly as a taciturn country blacksmith who loves to learn.

A few business matters also had to be dealt with.When I was living in the United States, a woman who was working as an assistant in an office in Tokyo suddenly proposed to get married early next year, so she had to resign this year and find someone to replace her.During the summer vacation, the Tokyo office cannot close down.After returning to Cambridge, I was scheduled to give lectures at several universities, and I had to make some preparations for it. So many things must be dealt with in an orderly manner in a short period of time.In order to meet the game in New York, it is necessary to accumulate practice.Even the "additional personality" wants to mobilize to help. No matter what, I have to keep running anyway. Daily running is like a lifeline for me. I can't say I'm busy and just leave it alone, or stop running. If I'm busy and stop running, I have never been able to run in my life. There are only a few reasons to keep running, and there are enough reasons to stop running. There are enough reasons for stopping a large truck. We can only carefully polish each of those "little reasons". When I have time, I will tirelessly polish them.

When in Tokyo, I usually go for a run at Jingu Gaien.It was the circular jogging track next to the Jingu Stadium. Of course it couldn't be compared with New York's Central Park, but it was a rare green area in the downtown area of ​​Tokyo.I have been used to running this jogging track for many years, and even the subtleties are engraved in my mind.I remember clearly where there are pits and depressions.This is the perfect place for exercises that require constant awareness of distance.The problem is that there is a lot of traffic in this area, there are also many pedestrians at certain times, and the air is not very clean.But in the very center of Tokyo, it's not a luxury.And the fact that it's near where we live should be thankful for that alone.

Jingu Gaien runs 1,325 meters in one lap, and there are signs engraved on the road every 100 meters, making it very convenient to run.I use this jogging track when I decide I want to run five and a half or five or even four and a half minutes per kilometer.When I first started running in Gaien, Toshihiko Seko was still active, and he was also practicing running here. In order to face the Los Angeles Olympics, he practiced desperately with a stance.All he had in his head was the glittering medal.He missed the last Moscow Olympics for political reasons, and Los Angeles might be his last chance to win a medal.There is a sense of poignancy about him, and we only need to look at his eyes when he runs to see it clearly.At that time, coach Kiyoshi Nakamura was still alive, and the track and field team of S&B Foods had gathered a large number of capable players, showing an unstoppable momentum. The S&B track and field team often use this Gaien jogging track in their daily practice, and passed them many times. After going back and forth, I naturally became acquainted with the players in this team, and I even went to Okinawa to interview their training.

Before they go to work in the company, they come to practice individually early in the morning, and then the whole team trains collectively in the afternoon.And I jog here every morning at 7 o'clock—————— During this period of time, the traffic volume is relatively small, there are not many pedestrians, and the air is relatively fresh, so I often pass by S&B players and pay attention to each other. On rainy days They will also look at each other and smile, as if saying "It's not easy".The two young players I remember most clearly are Banyuki Taniguchi and Toyo Kanai.Both of them are in the second half of their twenties, and they seem to be from the track and field department of Waseda University. They have shown their talents in the Hakone long-distance relay race when they were students.After Seko-kun became the coach, they became the young ace players of S&B, and they were expected to be high.I think they have a great chance of winning Olympic medals in the future.

However, during the summer training camp in Hokkaido, the two encountered a traffic accident while riding in a car and died at the same time.I have witnessed what kind of harsh training they went through, so when I heard the news of their death, I was greatly shocked, heartbroken and regretful. I have had no personal contact with them, and hardly any direct conversations.Both were newlyweds, and I only heard about them after their deaths.However, as long-distance runners, they meet each other on the road every day, and they seem to have something in common with each other.Even if there is a huge difference in level, there are some things that only long-distance runners can understand. To this day, I still think of them from time to time when I run on the jogging trails around Jingu Gaien or Akasaka Imperial Palace in the early morning.When turning a corner, sometimes I feel as if they are breathing white, and they are running silently from the opposite side.After undergoing such harsh training, where did the hopes, dreams and plans in their hearts disappear? Will people's thoughts disappear with the death of their bodies? Near my house in Kanagawa, you can practice completely differently than in Tokyo.As I have already said, there is a very steep circular jogging track near my house.There is also a jogging track that takes three hours to run around and is very suitable for practicing a full marathon.Unlike Tokyo, the air here is clean.Running alone for three hours is quite boring, but you can listen to your favorite music, prepare yourself mentally, and go for a leisurely run.But this jogging track has to go out for a long distance, and then turn around and run back and forth. Once you run out, it is impossible to say "I am tired from running, let's go back halfway".Even if you climb, you have to climb back home.So it's not an unsatisfactory environment.Let me talk about writing novels. During interviews, people often ask: "What is the most important qualification for a novelist?" Needless to say, it is of course talent.If you don't have literary talent, no matter how much enthusiasm and hard work you do, you probably won't be able to become a novelist.It is said that this is a necessary qualification, rather it is a prerequisite.Even the best car can't run without fuel. However, no matter where it is, talent in quality and quantity is a talent that is difficult for the master to control.Sometimes we think that the amount is not enough, it is better to add a little more, or think about saving a little, and only take out one star at a time, so as to make it last longer.How can there be such a good thing! Talent is a thing that has nothing to do with our wishful thinking. When it wants to erupt, it spews out of the pipe, as much as it wants, and once it dries up, everything stops.Like Schubert, Mozart, or some kind of poets and rock musicians, they use up their rich talents in a short period of time, and then die dramatically, turning them into a beautiful legend. Although the way of life is very attractive, it is of no reference value to most of us. In addition to talent, if there is another important qualification of a novelist, I will not hesitate to mention concentration.This is the ability to gather the limited talents you have and then pour them into the places where you need them most.It's not enough to do anything great without it.Effective use of this power can make up for deficiencies and biases in talent.I work intensively for three or four hours in the morning.Sitting in front of the book desk, pour your consciousness only into what you are writing, and don't think about anything else.I thought that even with great talent, even with a head full of wonderful ideas, if the writer had a toothache, he might not be able to write anything, because his concentration was hindered by the sharp pain. Next to concentration is stamina.Even if I can concentrate on writing for three or four hours a day, and insist on it for a week, but say "I'm exhausted", I still can't write a long work.Concentrating on writing every day for half a year, a year, or even two years, a novelist—at least a writer who aspires to write a novel—must have this kind of endurance.Let's compare these to breathing techniques.If concentration is holding your breath, endurance is holding your breath while learning to breathe quietly and slowly.If these two breathing methods cannot be kept in balance, it will be difficult to persist in writing novels as a professional writer for many years.You have to hold your breath and continue to breathe. Thankfully, concentration and stamina, unlike talents, can be acquired through training and can be continuously improved.As long as you sit at the desk every day and train your consciousness to focus on one point, you will be able to master it naturally.This is very similar to the practice of strengthening muscles that I wrote earlier.Writing uninterruptedly every day and concentrating on working, these must be done - continuously transmit such information to the body system, let it firmly remember, and then move the scale quietly, and increase the limit value bit by bit Ascension, be careful not to let the body notice.This is similar to insisting on jogging every day, strengthening muscles, and gradually building a runner's body shape.Give it a boost, keep going.Give it another boost and keep going.Of course, this process requires patience, but it will definitely be rewarded accordingly. The excellent detective novelist Raymond Chandler once said in a private letter: "Even if I have nothing to write, I must sit at my desk for hours every day, alone and concentrate." What, I totally understand.By doing this, Chandler increases the stamina necessary for a professional writer, quietly boosting morale.Such a daily practice was indispensable to him. I think writing novels is manual labor.Writing articles is mental labor, but writing a tome is closer to physical labor.Granted, writing a book doesn't require lifting heavy objects, running around, and jumping up and down at high speeds.Many people in the world seem to only see the surface, and regard the work of a writer as a quiet and rational study labor, thinking that with the strength enough to hold a coffee cup, they can write novels.Try it, and you'll immediately understand that writing fiction is not such an easy job.Sitting at a desk, converging your nerves at one point like a laser beam, using your imagination to generate stories from the horizon of "nothing", picking out the correct words one by one, making all the processes accurate - such a kind of Work requires a far greater amount of energy for a longer period of time than is commonly imagined.Of course, there is no need to exercise the body, but the labor of muscles and bones is carried out in full swing in the body.Of course, it is the brain that thinks about the problem, but the novelist needs to put on the full equipment called "story" and use the whole body to think, which requires the writer to completely drive—and in many cases enslave—the physical ability. Talented writers can do this subconsciously or even unconsciously.Especially young people, as long as they have talent beyond a certain level, it is not difficult to persist in writing novels, and all kinds of difficulties can be easily overcome.To be young means to be full of natural vitality.Concentration and stamina, if needed, they will come running by themselves.Being young and talented is like having a pair of wings on your back. However, this kind of freedom gradually loses its natural advantages and freshness with age.Things that were once at your fingertips cannot be easily obtained after a certain age.It's like the speed of a fastball pitcher, which slows down a little bit.Granted, maturity of character may make up for a decline in talent, just as a fastball pitcher at some point changes his game to a more mind-boggling pitch.Of course, this kind of compensation is limited, and one can still feel the slight sadness after losing the advantage. It is not the kind of talented writer who hovers around the average level and can only work hard to develop physical strength from a young age.They develop concentration and endurance through training, and reluctantly use these qualifications as "substitutes" for talents.When you are "hard-working" like this, you may also encounter the talent hidden in yourself.Holding a shovel in hand, sweating profusely, digging a hole under his feet, the blind cat bumped into a dead mouse, and dug out the mysterious water vein sleeping in the ground, which is really so-called luck.Tracing back to the source, it is precisely through training that sufficient physical strength has been developed to make it possible to dig deep.In his later years, writers whose talent has just bloomed have more or less gone through this process. There are indeed giants in this world whose talents are never exhausted, whose quality of work never declines, and who are truly talented-although they are so rare.It is indeed a good thing for literature to celebrate the water veins that will not dry up even if they are used.Without these giants, the history of literature certainly would not be what it is today.It is enough to be proud of having such a scorching talent.To name them specifically, there are Shakespeare, Balzac, and Dickens... However, giants are giants after all, and they are exceptional and mythical people no matter what they say.Most writers in the world are not giants, and of course I am one of them. I can only find ways to make up for the lack of talent from different aspects.Otherwise, it is impossible to persevere and write more or less valuable novels.Which method to use and from which aspect to complement oneself will become the personality of each writer and become its unique taste. Much of the way I write fiction is learned, naturally, vicariously, and practically, from running down the road each morning.Where should I ask myself? How much rest is appropriate, and how much is too much rest? How much is appropriate, and how narrow? How much of the external scenery should be captured How much should I dig into my inner world? How much should I believe in my own abilities, and how much should I have doubts about myself? If I hadn’t made up my mind to start long-distance running when I changed my career to become a novelist, my I am afraid that the work is very different from what is written now.How different would it be? I don't know.But differences certainly exist. On July 18, 1983, the first full marathon was held in Marathon City, Greece, the birthplace of the marathon. Run a marathon and relax in a Greek restaurant-café. 12 kilometers after the start, he ran hard on the long and undulating road in the marathon city. On the playground at Tufts University on April 16, 1995. From 1993 to 1995, lived in Cambridge, MA and worked at Tufts University. Runners are often seen along the Charles River in Boston. On April 18, 1994, the day of the Boston Marathon, the author is slightly left in the center and wearing a dark blue tracksuit. On June 23, 1996, the Zorowen Lake 100-kilometer ultra-marathon race. After changing clothes at the last stop at 55 kilometers, challenge the route with the most ups and downs. sprint! In 11 hours and 42 minutes, I ran 100 kilometers. 97 kilometers, passing through Zhiyuan Garden. On a certain day in August 1997, I went to the Edogawa bicycle training circuit in Tokyo, and followed the coach for special bicycle training. On September 28, 1997, the Murakami International Triathlon Competition.Wearing a bicycle racing helmet. From swimming competition to bicycle competition, in order to ensure that "I will be 18 years old until my death", I will challenge the difficulties of bicycle competition. In any case, it is satisfying to keep running without stopping.I am also very satisfied with the novel I am writing now.I even look forward to what the next novel will look like with joy.As an incomplete person and a writer with limitations, I have gone through a life journey full of contradictions and inconspicuousness, but I still have such a mood. Isn’t this also one of the achievements? It is not without exaggeration, I think it's okay to call it a "miracle".If daily running has helped in any way to achieve such achievements, I have to express my deep gratitude to running. There are always people in the world who laugh at people who insist on running every day: "Do you really hope to live a long life?" I think that there are probably not many people who run because they hope to live a long life.I am afraid that there are many more people who run with the feeling that "it doesn't matter if you can't live a long life, at least you want to live a perfect life in your lifetime".For the same ten years, instead of living in a daze, living with a clear purpose and vitality is of course far more satisfying.There is undeniably a fascination with running: the ability to burn effectively—even a little—within one’s limitations is the essence of the business of running, and a metaphor for the business of living (and, in my case, writing).I am afraid that many runners will agree with such an opinion. I went to a gym near my Tokyo office and asked them to help stretch my muscles, which is a kind of stretching with external force.For parts that cannot be stretched effectively by yourself, stretch it with the help of a fitness trainer.Due to the long-term rigorous practice, the muscles all over the body are tense and stiff. If you don’t stretch like this occasionally, your body may be overloaded before the game.It is important to push the body to the limit, but if the limit is exceeded, the capital and profit will be eroded. The fitness trainer who helped me stretch was a young woman, but she was very strong.This means that the "external force" she gave me was accompanied by considerable—severe, I should say—pain.After half an hour of stretching, even the underwear was soaked with sweat. "You are so amazing, you can actually make your muscles so hard that you almost have a spasm." Every time she was amazed, "An ordinary person would have had something wrong a long time ago. You are still safe and sound!" Continue to torture the muscles like this, and sooner or later there will be trouble, she said.Perhaps it is.Yet I always feel (or hope) that I can handle it.I've been making do with my muscles for a long time.My muscles are always tense and stiff when I train intensively.Putting on the running shoes and running out in the morning, my legs are so heavy that I feel like they will never move normally again.Almost dragging his legs, he ran forward slowly on the road.I couldn't even keep up with the brisk walking old ladies nearby.However, I endured it, and as I ran, my muscles relaxed little by little. After about twenty minutes, I was able to run like an ordinary person at least, and my speed also came out.After that, I didn't feel particularly painful, and ran down mechanically. It takes some time for my muscles to work.Startup is extremely slow.Once it's warmed up and ready to go, it's effortless and in good shape for a considerable amount of time.This can be said to be a typical "long-distance running" muscle, not suitable for sprinting at all.If I run a sprint, maybe the race will be over before my muscles are mobilized.Although I do not have professional knowledge, I am afraid that this muscular characteristic is born with it, and it is closely related to my spiritual characteristics.Is it possible that the human spirit is controlled by the characteristics of the body? Or on the contrary, is the quality of the spirit working on the body? Or are the two closely influencing and interacting with each other? "Things, whether you like it or not, you can't escape and get rid of it.This tendency can be adjusted, but it cannot be fundamentally changed.People call it "nature".My pulse is usually only fifty beats per minute.I thought it was pretty slow.By the way, I heard that Naoko Takahashi, who won the gold medal at the Sydney Olympics, jumped thirty-five.However, after running for about thirty minutes, my pulse will rise to nearly seventy beats.And when you run with all your strength, you will reach nearly one hundred jumps.In other words, after running a certain distance, the pulse rate of ordinary people has just been reached.This is obviously a physique "suitable for long-distance running".Since I insist on running every day, my pulse has obviously slowed down, indicating that in order to adapt to long-distance running, the body is adjusting the pulse itself.If the pulse is already fast and rises as the running distance increases, the heart will be overloaded immediately.When you go to an American hospital to see a doctor, the nurses first provide you with pre-diagnosis services. When taking the pulse, they always say to me: "Oh, you are a runner." I am afraid that for a long time, the pulse of a long-distance runner numbers will converge.Running on the street, you can tell the novice from the veteran at a glance.A novice is one who breathes in short breaths; a veteran is one who breathes quietly and evenly.Their hearts beat slowly, and while they were immersed in thinking, they imprinted the traces of time.When I pass them on the road, I always listen to each other's breath, feel the way each other marks time, the way writers feel each other's performance. Gossip aside, my muscles are tense right now, pretty stiff.No matter how much I do stretching exercises, it refuses to become soft.Even at the height of my training, I still find it too stiff.Sometimes I'll bang my fist hard on a stiff part of my leg to loosen it up, which of course hurts.However, just as I am a bit stubborn, my muscles are also stubborn, maybe even more so.Muscle memory, patience.To a certain extent, it will also improve, but it will not compromise or give me accommodation.Anyway, this is my flesh, with its limits and tendencies.Same as appearance and talent, even if there is something unsatisfactory, there is nothing to replace it, and we can only rely on it to move forward desperately.This happens naturally with age, like opening a refrigerator and using only what's left in it to whip up random, not without artifice, dishes.Even if it's just apples, onions, cheese, and prunes, they don't complain.If you have something on hand, you should be grateful to Dade.Being able to think about problems in this way is one of the few benefits of aging. After a long time, I ran again on the streets of Tokyo.September in Tokyo is still scorching hot.The lingering summer heat in the city is particularly severe.I was sweating profusely as I ran silently, feeling the dripping from my hat and seeing the sweat flying off my body.The appearance of sweat splashing is clearly reflected on the road.Beads of sweat fell on the road and evaporated in an instant. Distance runners look alike no matter where they are.Everyone seems to be thinking about something, maybe they are not thinking about anything, but they seem to be concentrating.It’s so hot, and I’m still running! It’s admirable without realizing it, but when I think about it carefully, I’m actually doing the same thing. I was running on the jogging track in Gaien when a woman who happened to pass by called out to me.is one of my readers.Such things are rarely seen, only occasionally.I stopped to chat with her briefly. "I have been reading your novels for more than twenty years." She started reading my novels when she was not yet twenty, and she is now nearly forty.Humans age fairly. "Thank you." I said.Smile, shake hands, say goodbye.I'm afraid my hands are covered with sweat.Then, I resumed my pace.She continued walking toward her destination—where exactly, I don't know—and I continued running toward my destination.Where is my destination? New York, of course.