Tuesday, August 24, 2010

Mental clarity.

Heartbeats, faster. Muscles, harder. Stamina, longer. Breathing, deeper. Thinking, slower. Feeling, better. Get your head out of the gutter and onto the pavement, because that is where I am.

Running has never been something that I do for “fun,” it is more like something I have to do to “get through.” Like a crack head needs their fix, I need to run. I don’t always do it, I don’t always like it and sometimes I even walk a little. It’s not about getting the best time or running the longest distance (I hate when people ask me the question, “So how far did you run and how long did it take?”). For me, running is medicinal. For a short part of the day I can delete the thoughts running in my head and concentrate on breathing, stepping, seeing, smelling and doing everything but thinking. Other days, I can concentrate on the one thought that won’t leave my small mind alone. It gives me a chance to really rationalize and contemplate the who, what, where, when, why and how of the troublesome thought. I never really thought of myself as a competitive runner. I enjoy it too much. Don’t get me wrong, I was a middle-distance runner for high school track and I played midfield for my high school and college club field hockey teams (that means I played both offense and defense), its just that I never really ran for recognition. I do it to keep fit. Mostly for mental fitness but the physical benefits “weigh in” as well. Since landing in Moldova, running has become even more of a necessity. Trying to speak Romanian all day at the office makes my head spin and sometimes ache. So, every morning I start with a run, to clear my mind and get ready for a day full of language struggles. Another volunteer and I have decided to take our daily jogs to the next level and train for the original marathon in Athens which will occur in October, 2011. Wish me luck… it’s time to hit the road.

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