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| 5000 Women Running In Buenos Aires |
At the beginning of the year I decided to learn to run. I was already exercising. But I had never, ever run. I don't think I even ran when I was a kid! For some reason I told myself that I couldn't and distinctly labelled myself as a 'non-runner'. But I'd always envied people who would casually drop into conversations that they were heading out for a run or were training for a race. It sounded cool.
With the writing of the book well underway I felt like I could take on the world and recruited a couple of friends to train with. There was a five kilometre race for women coming up in the city and it felt like a reasonable goal to strive for. My plans were to train, to run the race, to check it off the to-do list and then to never run again. I didn't want to feel like I couldn't run any longer. I wanted to feel like I chose not to. There's a difference.
I'll be honest when I say that learning to run in the middle of the summer in Buenos Aires was hideous. We ran along the river early in the mornings but it was still extremely hot and humid. I got through it by day dreaming of every other exercise I could be doing in the comfort of air conditioning - Pilates, yoga, aerobics and spinning all ran through my mind. Good music and girlfriends were vital.
Over the course of several weeks I slowly built up from half walking/half running to actually running, okay well jogging. When our race day came we were as ready as we could be. We ran on a beautiful summer day with five thousand other women in the parks of Palermo while wearing cute matching race shirts. I finished the race in a respectable thirty-three minutes and loved the sensation of crossing the finish line. It felt fantastic.
I didn't run for several weeks afterward and went back to my regular aerobics classes. I thought that was it. But then something happened that surprised me. I found myself thinking about running. I missed it. I did not see that coming.
I started running again and have grown to love it. I don't run far or fast. I do a thirty minute run on the treadmill three times a week. Some mornings I wake up and I'm tired. I think to myself, " . . . am I really going to do this today?" But then I get going. The first five minutes are slow but everything loosens up and at some point I realize that my mind is able to wander. Running has become a form of meditation for me.
I won't run forever and I'll never run a marathon. It's too hard on the body. Coming from a family where a number of people have had knee and hip replacements I know that I have to take care of my joints. But for today I'll keep on enjoying my morning runs. They make me feel strong and calm, both of which make me a better mother.
Keep on moving! ✿ Micheline
