As an exercise in self-motivation, Michael reflects on the importance of having a training plan for running.

They call them rest days, but they aren’t always so restful, as Michael discovers when he takes a day off running and tries to write.

On any given day, at any given hour or minute, running means different things to the runner.

Michael works up a hunger by participating in a human ritual “that predates damn near everything” — chopping wood for the fires.