Running

Running

         As most of you probably know, over the last few years, running has become a pretty huge part of my life and identity.  As runners, every day we plan out when we will have time to run, where we will run, who we will run with, etc. For most of us, it is one of the best parts of our days.  It is a much needed break from our hectic lives and busy minds.  It is a time where all we need to think about is running.  While you are running, you can be in the moment, and nothing else matters.  It can be both social time with friends or solo time to think.  It is both meditative and exhilarating at the same time.  The world is so much more clear after a run, everything makes so much more sense.

         I have been so blessed with an amazing running community, and incredible places to run in the last few years.  At Lewis and Clark, I have an awesome team to run with everyday, and a coach that will do anything and everything for us.  People constantly check with me asking me how my runs are and how my body is doing, etc.  We have the endless trails of Tryon, along with Portland and the river to run along everyday.  At home, running is a bit more lonely, but I still have countless Minnesota parks and lakes to run around, and of course the Mississippi river.  My family and friends have slowly caught on to the importance of running in my life, and check in frequently.

         Needless to say, running has become an integral part of my everyday life.  Running in Cuenca has been an interesting experience and challenge to say the least.  I have started to adjust and enjoy running more.  First, the altitude has been quite the shock for me.  For the runners that know me, you know that I have never been the queen of pace…Thus far, every run here, I start out at a speedy pace that feels pretty.  Apparently though, my lungs can’t hold it, and I usually die halfway through my run, and struggle to make it back haha.  All of my runs are out-and-backs, and on every run, the way back takes me significantly longer than the way there.  I still haven’t learned.  I think I just get too excited. Second, traffic and smog are pretty big obstacles here.  My first few runs in the afternoon, I probably breathed in a full tank of gas, and had to stop ten times during my run.  Apparently you kind of have to run at dawn here.  It’s also apparently dangerous to run near the river later in the day, and my mom isn’t a happy camper when I do.  I’m a morning person…but not that much of a morning person, not a 6AM everyday morning person that is.  But apparently here I am.  I have learned to wake up and look forward to starting my days early with fresh air while it is there.  Plus, it means I have the rest of the day to enjoy with my friends and family, to study, adventure, etc.  Third, there is no running community here in Cuenca.  Running as a sport, is a foreign concept.  There are a few people who run occasionally, but usually only for weight loss.  When I try to explain that I am a runner, and I am on a team, and I compete in the sport of running, people simply look confused.  Therefore, running around Cuenca in my running shorts (people don’t wear shorts here), I stick out a bit.  Lets add the blonde hair, blue eyes, and height of 5’9’’...maybe I stick out a lot.  Every time I go out for a run, I know I am in for a host of everlasting stares, yells, honks, and people blatantly talking about me.  Calls of  “Mira la gringa”, “hey blondie” and “come here baby” follow me through out every run.  I have started to play games in my head to the various looks and calls, to find humor, and it doesn’t bother me all that much anymore.  Fourth, along with the lack of running community, there is a lack of places to run.  Since coming here, I have run the same route everyday.  Big green spaces are rear, as are spaces without endless human and automobile traffic.  Apparently Ecuador has the largest population per size of country in South America.  But, I have found a beautiful river with paths near my house, that I run everyday.  In the mornings, its’ fresh and peaceful.  Usually its me and a few others doing their morning exercises.  We are always joined by a number of dogs, sometimes cows, and occasionally a few people passed out on the paths.  I imagine by the end of the program, I will know every inch of the river, paths, parks, and playgrounds.  Its very repetitive, but I appreciate it as a consistent source of beauty in my life every morning.  I also enjoy the roasting pigs and guinea pigs I pass on my way running to the river everyday, along with a particularly talkative group of men that seem to know I will be running by each morning…

         It is also a big change to run alone everyday.  As I mentioned earlier, I have a pretty awesome team, and I am lucky enough to run with my friends everyday after classes.  Running was a built-in hangout with friends everyday in my schedule.  During our runs, we chat, joke, tell stories, and what not.  This is something I love most about running, the connection with my friends.  Here, running is a solo activity, alone time.  I have come to cherish it this way to.  I use it to reflect or brainstorm, or talk to myself in Spanish. During the day, I am usually always with my family or friends.  I never really choose to spend time alone here, so perhaps a little bit of alone time is good for me.