ACTION III

Summer 2016 and 2017 - Running

I enjoy running as my dose of daily cardio. Running is something that appeals to me because I can do it at my own pace and I try to fit a run in whenever I can. It’s not a team sport where I feel pressured to succeed on behalf of my teammates, or feel inferior to others. I can play some music and run at my own pace in my solitude. I love running through the forested trails at my cabin and my dog, Raya also loves to run and I’m working with her on training. I take her with me and she gives me motivation. She is an extremely happy dog who never seems to tire out; she inspires me to keep going. Sometimes, running is very hard for me as I have asthma. Running is also quite hard on the body. Doing it everyday is not possible for me when I’m working as well because my ankles and legs get too sore. I have to force myself to put one foot in front of the other, but I like that I can push myself to a distance; running is all me. Knowing that I can’t rely on anyone else but my own body allows me to truly know that I’m doing it to improve myself. I like knowing that I can train my lungs and chemoreceptors to deliver adequate oxygen to my respiring tissues for this task. This goes to show that running requires lots of training in many locations of the body. It is complex, which means it’s worth something.