On Running
A couple of months ago I had the pleasure of being in the same 5K race as my granddaughter, Lorelai. The race was aptly named “The Tortoise and Hare 5K”. Of course, she trounced me! I tried so hard, but I couldn’t catch her, and she is only seven years old! Later, when my daughter posted separate pics of both of us on social media, I began to see my problem. My run appeared to be kind of a shuffle, or staggering, toward the finish line, while Lorelai’s feet didn’t even seem to touch the ground! So, I have learned from that experience and now try to pick my feet up more!
I think I was almost 40 when I began running at the instigation of my friend, Bonnie. I remember that first run with Bonnie I kept thinking things like ‘Are we there yet?’, ‘How far are we going, anyway’, and ‘Surely, this is far enough!’. But that was about half of what I do now, which is 5K. And I just run once a week, on the weekend – sticking to that weekend schedule because, hey, now that I am retired it’s one of the few routines I have left, so I seem to be kind of clinging to it. And for me, more is not better, since I got a painful case of plantar fasciitis the one time that I tried to do a 10K.
I’m not running because it’s the funnest thing you can do. My motivation comes from a small battered and stained clipping that I’ve had stuck on my refrigerator for a couple of decades now that reports on the results of a 20 year study of running over the age of 50. That study says those who run cut their risk of premature death in half. It also found that those who run have less cardiovascular disease, fewer cancer deaths, less cognitive decline, and better immunity. Even their joints are in better condition! The article says that running is the single activity with the most bang for the longevity buck. So, there I go. And there is a side benefit in that, not infrequently, during a run, I find you can get into kind of a zen-like state, where it is just you and the surface, and nothing else matters! Except for cars…Don’t zone out and not notice the cars!
Lona