Where I run

I may live in a 2nd world country, but when I'm running, I'm in a THIRD world country. The people in the town where I live make me feel so angry sometimes. And good batteries are hard to find and too expensive. The rare times when I have batteries for my mp3 player, running is fun.

Most development scales are based on socio-economic factors. But, if there were a fitness scale, this country would be well near the bottom of the scale. Just look at the number of people marching in the Olympic parade and you can tell whether a country has organized sports programs (which is an indicator of whether sports, i.e. fitness is important to them).

When I go running, I try to look at the ground or the scenery. If I look at the people I am passing, their eyes bore holes into my jiggling legs and their jaws drop open at the sight of my ponytail flapping. A girl! Running! WHY? I hate it when cars slow down just to stare at me. I hate it even more when they honk their horns. Why do they do this? And I hate it the most when passing tractor trailers on their way to the nearby border wail their horns as they pass by. I'm on the sidewalk. There's no other flat place to run. I live in the middle of two high mountains.

Running is a great stress relief for me. As soon as I get away from public roads and out of the town, I start breathing. The endorphins rush in to replace the adrenaline. I feel my face flushing and can hear my legs whooshing. I head into the forest, along the valley, ducking beneath the wild brush and ignoring the trash. I feel lucky because I'm the only person who saw that blue jay pecking around in the middle of the path. He flutters away as I come storming into his shattered serenity. I wish I had the endurance to stay in the forest for hours, but my legs are out of shape, and I soon become fatigued and out of breath.

Eventually, to get home, I have to re-enter society. The same people are still sitting on their porches. They glance at their watches, noting how long I've been running. The same people are strutting on the sidewalks, shooting the breeze, following my movements. But now, I don't care. I've seen and done things they haven't today. I look right back at them saying,
"I am a female athlete, and I am strong."

Beginner's advice

I seem to have been getting caught in the rain almost every time I've gone running lately. This makes me feel like a warrior.

I read in Runner's World that "it's difficult when you first begin running. it doesn't feel good, and most of the time you feel like a failure." This is true for me. But reading this helped me realize that I am a beginner runner. I may have been a state champion (ha) swimmer in high school, but I am 23 now. I am FIVE years out of high school. I'm pathetic. And so when I stopped 10 minutes into what was supposed to be a 35 minute run, bending over in chest pain, I decided to keep going.
And I decided to go again tomorrow. Maybe tomorrow I'll make it 11 minutes.

Even though I'm a beginner, I have some advice for female runners. And I will dispense that advice now: Before going on a run, check to see if there is a chance of rain. If the skies are heavily overcast and it's been raining sporadically for the past 24 hours, there is a good chance that you'll get rained on. Wipe off your mascara before you go running. Because the only thing people want to see running is YOU.