Chapter 11 Epilogue on the road around the world

The original manuscripts included in this book, as stated at the beginning of each chapter, were written between the summer of 2005 and the fall of 2006.It's not the kind of article written in one go, but written bit by bit while taking the time to do other work.Every time I ask myself: "Ah, what the hell am I thinking about?" Even though the book is not too long, it took quite a long time from writing to finishing, and after finishing writing, I started to revise carefully . I have published several travel diaries and essay collections, but I have almost never written about myself from the front around a theme like this.More careful choice of words is required.I don't like to talk too much about myself, but if I don't talk honestly where I should, the point of writing this book in particular is lost.The subtle balance and consideration in it are difficult to appreciate without rereading it several times after a period of time.

I think of this book as something like a "memoir".Although it is not an exaggerated thing like a biography, it seems to be quite reluctant to summarize it under the title of essay.To repeat what I wrote in the preface: I want to use "running" as a medium to express myself as a novelist and at the same time a "people everywhere", how I spent about a quarter of a century , do some tidying up.The extent to which a novelist should be obsessed with novels, and the extent to which a novelist should be open to the public, may vary from person to person, and it is difficult to generalize.I hope that through the writing of this book, I will find something similar to a benchmark for me.Whether it will be successful or not, I am not very confident.But when I finished writing, I was relieved, and there was a thin feeling in my heart.For writing, now is the best time of life.

In a rush to finish the book, I entered a few races.It was originally planned to run a full marathon in Japan in early 2007, but before the race, I caught a rare cold and failed to run.If successful, it will be my twenty-sixth race.As a result, from the autumn of 2006 to the spring of 2007, I didn't run a full marathon, and the season ended.It's a pity, but let's work harder next season. However, in May I participated in the Honolulu Triathlon.This is a large-scale event comparable to the Olympic Games, but this time I ran the whole course happily, comfortably and smoothly.Grades also improved.I lived in Honolulu for about a year, thinking that the opportunity was rare, so I signed up for a local event similar to the "Triathlon School", three times a week for about three months, and the citizens of Honolulu Practice triathlon hard together.The activity really helped a lot, and I also made friends in the class ("iron friends").

In this way, running a marathon in the cold season and participating in a triathlon in the summer has gradually formed a cycle of my life.Since there is no off-season, it seems to be very busy at any time, but I have no dissatisfaction with the increase in the joy of life. To be honest, I am not uninterested in cheering up my spirits and plucking up the courage to challenge the official triathlon competition, but I am afraid that if I do it, I will definitely be taken up by daily practice. Undoubtedly, the more the situation is like this, the more it will hinder the industry.The lack of development in the direction of the ultra-marathon is also based on the same reason.Adhere to sports, "adjust and enhance physical strength, so as to write a good novel" is the first goal. If the time for writing is reduced due to competition and practice, it is putting the cart before the horse, and you should feel embarrassed.

So, at this stage, I still restrain myself within a relatively stable range. In this way, for a quarter of a century, I insisted on running every day, and all kinds of thoughts surged from the bottom of my heart. What is still fresh in my memory is that I ran in Central Park with the writer John Irwin in 1984.I was translating his novel "Let the Bears Return to the Mountains" at that time, and asked to interview him when I went to New York.But he said: "I'm too busy to spare time, but I'm running in Central Park in the morning. If you come to run with me, you can talk while running." So we ran in the park together early in the morning and talked about it. A lot of words.Of course, I can't record or record, but the pleasant memory of two people running side by side in the fresh air still remains in my mind.

It was also in the 1980s.During my morning fitness run in Tokyo, I often pass a beautiful young woman.It has been like this for several years, and they became acquainted naturally, and they smiled and greeted each other when they met, but because of shyness, they never talked to each other, and they didn't even know each other's name.But meeting her every morning was one of my little joys at that time.Without such a little joy, it is not easy to insist on running down every day. Running with Barcelona Olympic silver medalist Yuko Arimori in the high country of Polda, Colorado, is also one of the experiences in Nagami's mind.Of course it’s jogging with little exercise, but I came directly from Japan to a highland of nearly 3,000 meters above sea level. I ran suddenly, so my lungs screamed, my brain was dizzy, and my throat was dry, and I couldn’t keep up.Arimori just gave me a cold look and said, "Mr. Murakami, what's the matter with you?" The world of professional players is very harsh, but she is actually a very kind person.However, after --&, my body gradually adapted to the thin air, and I was able to enjoy a refreshing run in the Rocky Mountains.

In this way, meeting all kinds of people through running is also one of my joys.In addition, there are many people who have helped me and encouraged me.Originally, I should like to express my gratitude to many people like the Oscar award ceremony, but if I list the names one by one, it will be irrelevant to most readers, so I will limit myself to the following ones. The title of my beloved author Raymond Carver's collection of short stories, What We Talk About When We Talk About Love, was used by me as a prototype for the title of this book.My thanks go to his wife Tess 'Gallagher for her generous permission.And I would like to express my deep gratitude to the editor, Ms. Oka Midori, who has patiently waited for more than ten years for the completion of this book.

Finally, I would like to dedicate this book to all the runners I have met on the road so far around the world.If it weren't for you, I certainly wouldn't be running like this. Finally, Watanabe, I finally finished serializing this book, applause~~ Haruki Murakami on a certain day in August 2007