A morning run

It was not quite dawn as I slipped on my running shoes, tied my hair back into a pony tail, and set off for a run.

As I headed out on a well-worn path, I thought back to a time when I could barely walk, let alone run….

Learning to walk

Almost a decade ago I weighed over 320 pounds. Standing was difficult. Back pain would leave me crippled by the end of each day.

That’s when I met Robert Roy. He put me on a treadmill and while I walked, he talked to me about being active, and setting goals. After months of treadmill work, he suggested I enter a 5K race….

Although I had thought Robert was delusional, and that first 5K took well over an hour, I didn’t die. And I had fun.

Movement as play

That’s when the magic happened. When movement became fun, it’s all I wanted to do.

I wasn’t particularly fast, or very good. I was old, short and without any athletic skill set. But running was fun. And I could not get enough.

I trail ran. I ran laps on the track. I ran in the mud. I ran up mountains and down stream beds. I ran a spectacularly ugly marathon. It wasn’t exercise, it was fun.

Sometimes it is difficult as adults to see movement as play. We’ve been programmed into thinking we must be good at something in order to pursue it. We think we have to be tall and lean to be a runner. We have to be fast; we have to be young.

The thing is, we don’t “have” to be anything. Throw away your preconceived ideas of what an athlete has to be, and just have fun.  And, if you get a chance, run in the rain…; there’s nothing like it.

 

By the same author: Cycling tips from a late bloomer (Click the image below)

 

Cathy Bergman137 Posts

Cathy Bergman est devenue athlète de façon inopinée à un âge relativement avancé. Elle nous montre qu’il n'est jamais trop tard pour retrouver la santé et la forme. Cathy Bergman is an accidental athlete who found health and fitness late in life. She shows us that is never too late to get healthy and fit.

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