Run!

When I was in high school I was not very physically active. Walking the 20 minutes to school and back was a punishment. My mom had to force me to walk the dog as one of my chores. Anything to get me to put down my Archie Digest and get my butt off the living room chair. Gym was my least favourite class. Not only because I didn't like being active, but also because I sucked at every sport I tried. And I use the term "tried" very loosely.

The worst part about gym class, a time I dreaded every year, was the infamous Cooper Run. Why we did this I don't know but it was 12 minutes of a mixture of pure hell and shame. I would start out with a slow jog but then, after about 30 seconds, I would collapse into a walk. I would then walk out the remaining 11 minutes and 30 seconds while most of my classmates lapped me repeatedly.

My last year of forced gym was grade 10 I think and I was bound and determined to run/jog the whole 12 minutes. And I did it. It was the proudest moment of all my gym experiences. Of course I was still going walking speed but I wasn't walking! I "ran" the whole time! 12 minutes! It was amazing.

Now I'm almost 32 years old. Being in high school, and being a teenager, is tucked far away in the past. Things have changed however. Running 12 minutes isn't the hardship it once was. Now I run 4K two to three times a week. Last year I ran three 10K marathons, including the Queen City Marathon Relay and this year I'll be running in the relay again. I play on two softball teams every summer and I just recently joined a Dodge ball team.

Why is this important? Well, it's important because, since turning 31 I've been feeling depressed because I'm getting older and looking older and having the metabolism of a sumo wrestler, when in fact, I'm in better shape than I was when I was 16! So, even though I am starting to show signs of aging, I have a long way to go before I'm out of the game.

Take that getting old!