Walking and Running to Explore New Places

I’ve hated running for ever. I first tried running for exercise by the shore of the Indian Ocean when I was fourteen. Didn’t get very far. Did get a bad case of shin splints. Over the next couple of decades I tried again a few times, but never really got into it. Every time I tried the result was the same: it was painful, frustrating, and just not fun. I tried focusing on mechanics, but it was making running just that: mechanical.

[This is the seventh of my 30 days posts.]

Sometime in the last ten years that started to change. I started running while on vacation, in places that were new to me. Now I was eager to run further because the more I ran, the more I was able to see. And if I got winded, I’d just walk for a while. There weren’t any rules. This was for fun. This is what really did it for me. There was another benefit to running: a 5-mile early morning run would prevent me from feeling guilty when I ate delicious, fatty vacation food. Over time early morning running became a vacation tradition. It was one of the few things that I had full control over while travelling, a time when very little can be in your control. It also became a great way to start the day properly. But that’s the topic of another post for another day.

I still don’t consider myself a runner, anymore than I consider myself a Ruby developer or guitar player. And that’s okay. I still don’t particularly enjoy running around my neighborhood. But I look forward to running when I’m on vacation. I may run once a month or so, just for kicks. But otherwise, it’s my ‘normal’ workouts for me.

See you tomorrow.