I took up
running with something approaching gusto, the summer before I left for Japan. I
knew that I needed some serious stress busters in my mental tool box before I
left, and running was something I had enjoyed on and off for a while. I printed
off the “Couch to 5K” workout program from their website and got started.
I’ll be
honest, I wasn’t a fan of that first program. It had a lot of short timed runs
and then short timed walks. Have you ever tried staring at your watch while
running? It doesn’t work out so well. However, even though it irritated me, I
stuck with it and began to see progress. That summer on my aunt’s treadmill I
ran five kilometers in 30 minutes. I was ecstatic! So ecstatic in fact, that I
went to a specialty running store to buy shoes that were actually good for me.
I plopped down my money, so much of my money, and asked if the store shipped to
Japan. They did not.
Those yellow
Sauconys (I did NOT choose the color, but I came to love them and their
ugliness anyway) took me far that fall. I loved running in Tokyo. Most of my
runs are in the evenings or at night. Getting up at five in the
morning every day to go run is not my idea of a good time, but I love beating out the frustations of the day with an intense run after work. In Tokyo, running at night, I felt perfectly
safe. I had two police boxes really close to me and I kept them in my routes.
It was also incredibly well lit and there were so many people everywhere! Never
alone in Tokyo.
Also, Tokyo
had Tokyo running fashion. Looking cute while running is not high on my
priority list (let’s be honest I can wear the cutest clothes and I will still be
sweaty, red faced, breathing like a winded rhino, and have a frizz halo around
my head), but it is a good motivator to go out when you have new workout
clothes! I did buy capris that had a little skirt over them. Cute!
Once I moved
to Kumamoto, the running stopped for a couple months. This was for a couple
reasons. First, it was cold. I really don’t like the cold. I got by in Tokyo by
bribing myself with a hot bath soak afterwards, but I just wasn’t feeling it
after a while. Secondly, Kumamoto is not quite as well lit as Tokyo and for the
first few months this made me uncomfortable. Still does sometimes. Thirdly, as
some of you may remember, I was battling all sorts of illnesses early in my
time here.
Then spring
came at the end of February and I became a running fool. I was going out for a
run four times a week and fairly regularly. I had to build back up to 5
kilometers though. I discovered a great park in Kumamoto that has a
running/walking trail along the river. The weather was gorgeous and I could not
resist its lure.
June = rainy
season = no running.
July + August
= summer in Kumamoto. No running then either. The humidity in Kumamoto is
intense and I discovered very quickly that as much as I wanted to go out
running, it was impossible. My asthma would not allow it. Even walking around
town was a challenge to my lungs.
Finally
September rolled around and I was hitting the road again. The feeling of
running can be pure joy for me. It is the one instance in my life in which I
feel utter control. I feel powerful and beautiful; two things that tend to
escape me on a regular basis. I’m not a very “good” runner. I am not fast and I
can’t go the furthest. But really, who cares? I come back from a good run and
am almost always smiling. And I don’t mean just a little grin. I mean beaming.
Like a crazy person. It feels that good.
My runs are
private times for me. I am surrounded by people, I usually run around rush hour
time, but I have discovered this ability to be aware of the people around me, but
at the same time… it’s almost like I am meditating. While some of my awareness
is on the people, bikes, and cars, it is separate from the dominate part, which
is my breath and the pounding of my feet on the pavement. I pray often when I
run. They aren’t really focused prayers either. Mostly it is just an intense
awareness of God’s gifts to me, both in my own physicality and in the world
around me.
A good example
of this was the other night when I ran in the pouring rain. It wasn’t raining
that hard when I started out, just spitting really, and I thought no worries,
if it gets too bad I’ll grab a cheap umbrella at a convenience store and head
home. It started raining harder and harder, and I started becoming more and
more determined to finish my run regardless of the weather. At the end of six
kilometers I was soaked to the bone and my shoes were sloshing. I was wringing
my hair out on the step. I felt some kind of crazy wonderful too, and so in awe
of the God that created both the rain and the girl whose muscles allowed her to
run in it for forty minutes. It sounds cheesy I know, but what can I say? I was
still beaming an hour later after a really hot shower and some hot tea.
I love my
running if you haven’t already heard. It is my stress buster, my beauty regime,
my emotional management, and my own private worship service. I may not go the
furthest and I certainly don’t go the fastest, but the only person I am
competing against is myself and I am determined to find out how far God made me
to go. See you at the finish line!
PS: I have
discovered my cure for not running in the cold, the rainy season, or the heat
of summer (cause honestly that would limit me to just running in the spring and
fall and that is just lame). The Kumamoto city gym is only 300 yen or roughly
$3.00 for a time and it is a good place to go, only about fifteen minutes by
bike. They’ve got everything I need: treadmills, weights, bikes and ellipticals
for none running days, the staff are friendly, and best of all its cheap. The
funny thing is I often run into my KyuGaku boys working out there. I wish I had
a camera to capture the expressions on their faces when they see
“Caroline-sensei” walk in. Priceless. Every time.
