Training

Mens sana in corpore sano, said the Romans: A healthy mind in a healthy body. I decided to work on that. Whenever I am in my desert retreat I walk more: at least half an hour a day, three four days a week a hike of about an hour and occasional guided hikes by the local Trail Association. Now the challenge has been upped. I am not a spring chicken, yet I want for the first time in my life to learn to run. I have been given a schedule to get to 15 minutes in 8 weeks. That to me is daunting. But I have seen one other person do it. The first priority is to learn to practice without getting injured. Shoes are needed. Have you ever looked at the array of running/walking shoes: some have inbuilt air pumps, others have fluids, the designs are kind of wild. I choose a conservative white, gray, orange high tech supporting, shock-absorbing shoe on sale. ☺ Believe me, they are comfortable yet weird looking. Before starting on one’s 15 minutes run/walk, one has to warm up, loosen the shoulders, the legs, do a kind of belly dance, and then you are off for the first run: 1 minute running, 2 minutes fast walking and this 5 times, followed by a cool down period and some stretching. This schedule you follow three times during the first week. Are you laughing at me? OK! I don’t mind. But let me tell you the third and fourth minute run was hard. Really. That is why I need to do this. The added challenge was that the dirt road I had chosen for my exploit seemed flat enough for fast walking, but having to run uphill – even just slightly - made the ordeal even harder and of course it didn't look pretty and some neighbors asked, ‘What where you doing running around?” “Are you alright?” “Where were you going?” To Rome, to Rome where the soundest thinking was done by fit gymnasts… I guess I am getting fitter in order to give a better spectacle when thrown to the lions.