on runner's high

so why do i run?

the first time i attempted to run was when i started going to the gym (year 2003) but it wasnt a hard core run.....im not saying i'm a hard core runner now because im not, but let me finish..... i only run for about 2 (or 3 when im feeling inspired) times around a parking lot near the gym where i go to.... that's probably around .6 miles total.... yep, not even a mile...that's how pathetic i was.... the other running that i do is around the tennis court once or twice for warm-up before i play tennis.... and then i stopped running altogether.... its not that i hate it, it's just that i'm too lazy.... 

i have picked up running again when i moved here in the US in 2007..... it was my de-stresser when i was feeling depressed about my situation..... that was during the first 3 months of my arrival here in the US...... 

my nikeplus profile
been tracking my run thru nikeplus since 2011, so the numbers here a kinda pathetic, lol..
but hey, better than being a couch potato right?

it started when
one time i found out there's a running trail just behind the corporate apartment..... it's the apartment i was sharing with 3 other men (2 pakistani & 1 indian), who, like me, were waiting for a client.... i got curious to see how long the trail is and where it starts and ends.... so the next day, after my usual non-work work (ie: sitting around all day getting interviewed or reading some thing for my next interview), i put on my old Fila shoes and off i ran.....

at first my knees started to complain, and then my calves and then my will power but after a  while, after i warmed up a bit, i'm not noticing any of those anymore.... i was enjoying the breeze, the trees, the sky..... every time i feel like i wanted to stop i would see a number marked on the side of the trail and i'll push myself to go further to see where the next mark is, and then the next, and before i know it, i have just finished my first 1 mile.... 

i know. still pathetic.

and then i started running every other day because i noticed that every time i run something in me changed..... my restlessness disappears, my stress level goes down and i like how i can sort out my emotions and thoughts while i run..... it's like having my own pensieve (harry potter fan alert)..... but instead of a big magic bowl i have the sky and the clouds..... i found out that running helps me take the cobwebs off my brain cells....

i try to run even while travelling...
this one is in Cape May

i run outside because i can't stand the threadmill..... it bores me to death.... i don't like the feel of rubber under my feet....  i dont like seing the same thing..... i like the smell and the feel of the outside and I despise the feeling of confinement when running indoor on a threadmill.....

i like running alone.... i don't like talking when i'm running.... first, because i would be huffing and puffing and second because it ruins the moment.... imagine yourself enjoying a bubble bath with your favorite music in the background and your favorite wine in hand when suddenly someone barges in your bathroom and started banging pots..... that's how i feel when someone talks to me while i'm running.... 

when i run, i like it when it's just me, my comfortable running shoes, my newly compiled "feel-good" songs in my super old generation mini ipod and my wireless headset (i don't like wires dangling all over the place while  i run).....

my running gear:my old nike+ arm band, my vomero running shoes, my wireless headset
and my very old genereation mini ipod

the choice of songs matter to me a lot too.... because somehow it dictates how fast or slow my pace is gonna be.... songs also makes me feel energized and get me more into what i'm doing.... it sets the mood.... 

running is very therapeutic for me..... it helped me survived depression when i just came here in the US and finding my place in this foreign land.... it helped me go through a bad break up..... helped me go through a sticky situation at work or stressful family members.....

i like how I can make my mind not think of anything for a moment and just soak all my conciousness on the song playing in my ear or watch the view zips by or just watch the clouds go by while i  mentally make out shapes..... i like watching the rays of the sun peeking through clouds like a very tall slide from the sky..... i like how the breeze kisses my whole face or how the leaves rattles with the breeze as if clapping and cheering for my every stride.... i like hearing the thump of my foot on the ground, one after the other, mixed with the sound of my breathing..... i like how a fellow runner would briefly smile at me as she (or he) passes me by.....i like how, for some brief time, i can just think of nothing.... nothing..... and just enjoy the moment.....

just chillin' and enjoying the view after the usual short 3-mile run

as i got older, i kinda got a little more serious about it...instead of a mile i run for at least 3 miles nowa....i'm still not a fast runner, i can only run a mile per 13 minutes, but it doesn't bother me...i'm not competing with anyone, i'm just doing it for myself...because i like how i feel after each run....

maybe it's psychological, maybe it's the dopamine (mood elevating hormone), or runners high (seratonin), or maybe it's the music, or the view, or the joy of people-watching.... but whatever it is, i like what it's doing for me....

unfortunately, i am not a hardcore runner..... i'm a seasonal runner.... i only run when the weather is to my liking.... i don't run during summer or winter..... just spring and fall..... 

i still can't do long distances, the longest i ran was 6 miles.... i do have dreams of running the marathon someday....maybe, i will start with a 5K run and then see where it takes me from there.....