Amidst all the accomplished posts, a few words about the
joys of sport for a beginner. I never learned how to swim as a child, and yesterday I swam
25yards for the first time ever. And that got me thinking back to a few years
ago when I could never have imagined that I would ever run long distances or
how much I would grow to love and yearn to run. Growing up in the urban jungle
that was my hometown, running was something one did on a treadmill, for only
15minutes at a time. My gym had many members and not enough treadmills and if
we didn’t set some time limits, other people would never get a chance :)
Coming to Cincinnati, after my initial adjustment to the
relatively cleaner air, the significant decrease in vehicular traffic, and the
ridiculous system of temperature units, I saw the wonderful wide sidewalks and
in them, an opportunity. I was also fortunate to have some excellent friends,
all new to Cincinnati, all very social, and wanting to get outside in the open
air – Maria, Rosalia, Mathieu to name a few.
Starting as someone who could run perhaps 2miles at a decent
clip, the hills of Clifton trained me to appreciate the view from the top and
that it is worth the back-breaking climb. Through several pairs of shoes,
numerous knee injuries, a few thousand miles, and I have seen cities and
countries like never before.
The first time I ran 13miles, preparing for my first half
marathon, my father shouted incredulously down the telephone – ‘20k?? Why would
you run 20k? Why would anyone run 20k?’ It only took him two phone calls, and
he was back to being the person who trained me through years of competitive
skating, when I called him after the race – ‘So how fast did you run? What was
your time? What was the winner’s time?’
My favorite part of running has been the cities I run
through. I pack my shoes, if there is even a slight chance that I will sneak
out for a few quick miles. It has been such a great way to see a new place,
feel the pulse of the people, how they greet and make way or grunt and frown
(yes, I confess I judge and grudge and yes, I have some favorites :P), feel the ebb and
flow of traffic, the different neighborhoods, the university campuses and the
young out and about, all under the gorgeous sun. Well, sunny for the most,
haha! So far, my favorite runs have been through Forest Park in St Louis,
beautiful in its icy splendor in winters and resplendent in the bright hues of summer. And also, a recent crush - a run along Lake Pontchartrain in New
Orleans. More stories from my runs for fun in different cities in coming posts!
 |
| Forest Park, Jan 2014 |
 |
| Forest Park, Sept 2014 |
