I’m a runner (or want to be) #1
Short stories about freedom and peace during my runnings
Once upon a time…
It was March 2017, my first race! 6km with my cousin — Corrida da Mulher, 2017, Curitiba/Brazil.
I used to practice Muay Thai, Taekwondo, then going to the gym and cycling to work but never ran properly. Maybe because in my mind it was like: Running + Asthma = Bad idea, it’s not for you.
I remember that I always asked my friends (those friends who used to run) how did they start?, When? Why? and if they could aks me to join them for runs. For months, none of my friends asked me to run together, but the day had finally come; my cousin asked me to run with her, and (in short) this is the way I’ve started running. (Thanks to Mari)
Therefore, okay, my cousin asked me to run a 6km race, oh gosh! 6km! Are you crazy?! I’ll never finish it! I thought. C’mon Ju, it will be amazing!
We started the race together, my mind was full of thoughts, my body was struggling with my breathing and my lungs didn’t keep up with my legs. But I kept running, until the moment my cousin said me Go Ju, we’ll meet each other at the end of the race. I badly need to walk a bit! And then I kept running.
Suddenly, I realised that I was running surrounded by extraordinary women, (that was not only because it was women’s race), I saw a woman pushing another one in a wheelchair, and another guiding a blind woman while she was running. I started to cry (yes, I’m a crying person), because of a strong feeling of happiness filled my body and my mind while I was running my first race surrounded by all those amazing people. Unbelievable!
I asked myself: how did they keep themselves motivated? How are they full of energy?! It was inspirational for sure!
Those scenes empowered me to control my thoughts, my breath and finish that race in 42 minutes! I couldn’t believe it! It was amazing! (Today I know that the time doesn’t matter and for me, the most important thing is to finish with a huge smile on my face! Stay tuned, I’ll write about this)
Nowadays whenever I close my eyes and remember that day… I can feel myself finishing it, with the mix of pain and satisfaction that brings joy’s tears to my eyes.
Because of my first race, I learnt that I needed to have faith in myself, ignore others opinions and control my mind, I felt that it was possible to do everything!
The only thing you really need is (more than one actually): To learn how to control your mind, breathing, training, walking, running and jogging. Additionally, don’t forget to have good fellows by your side and a nice pair of runners!
To be continued…
Well, If you arrived here: Are you interested in running? Are you a friend of mine trying to motivate me reading my articles (thanks so much!)? Are you like me? Do you want to start but it’s hard to? Leave a comment :)
Thanks so much for reading out my words until here, I really appreciated it!
If you enjoyed it, feel free to share :) These are only words in this cyberspace, but maybe someone wants to read as well.
I have written some articles in Portuguese and Italian.
