Why Run?

So now that Luke and I are finally settled (well for a few weeks at least) in a short term apartment in Melbourne, I have been able to go running again. I have made a mental plan to try to go every other day, and since I started I have stuck to it (ok I mean its only been 4 days...), but its been really hard. The first day that I laced up my sneaks and headed out to explore our new neighborhood I knew it was going to hurt. I knew what I was in for and I sort of revelled in it. It felt good (well not physically) to be out on the pavement again. It was in the morning so I was around all of these other people trying to get a workout in before work, except of course for the fact that I didn't have to go to work so obviously I liked it even more.


Now what I wasn't prepared for unfortunately was the agony that I would feel the next day. Ouch. Everyone who has ever exercised knows that its not the next day, but the day after that which kills you. I woke up on that second day wondering why I had promised myself to go every other day. My quads had their own heart beat every time I even looked at the stairs not to mention when I had to bend over and lace up my shoes. But I did it, I went out on that second day and ran for even longer than I had the first day. This is only because I got lost while running, trust me I was in far more pain wheezing on this run (which turned into more of a wog (that's a jog at a walkers pace)).

Anyway, I'm sure you're wondering why I'm complaining to you about getting my butt back into shape. Really this has something to do with travelling I promise. While I was wogging yesterday I couldn't help but smile as I took in the sights around me. I suddenly remembered: I'm going for a jog in Melbourne Australia. Kind of like that time I remembered I was in New Zealand. It made me think of something a professor at Babson once said. It was a management consulting type of class and he was telling us about how he has travelled the world with different consulting work, but it is hardly travelling because all he gets to see is the inside of a boardroom. He told us that his only escape and real chance to see a city he visits is to go for an early morning run. Although I have no connection with him in the sense that I am never in a boardroom (thankfully) and I can run whenever I want, I really think sometimes it is the best way to see things. I have seen some of the most interesting people just living their normal lives while I've been running. I've seen sunsets, beaches, and cityscapes. For me it has become a way to explore my surroundings and get to know the streets, find the busy cafes and restaurants and as a bonus I don't get fat from all of the Tim Tams.


So that's why I run.