Run, Heck, Run!

I am living across the street from the equivalent of Central Park in New Orleans.

At about 6:30 this evening, I put on my most breathable running clothes, a rockin' playlist of "ignore your pain and keep running"-type songs, and braved the 90-degree, 90 percent humidity weather for a jog. It didn't take long before I was drenched in sweat, breathing heavy, and trying not to fall over, but I kept going long enough to cross St. Charles Avenue and enter Audobon Park. 

Suffice it to say, I was shocked and awed by what I saw. Despite the heat, the bugs, and the dinner hour, there were literally hundreds of runners, walkers, joggers, and bikers joining be for some early evening torture. Old people, young people, marathoners, new runners with ill-fitting choices in clothing, children with their parents and siblings, dog walkers, thin people, obese people, all races, all classes, you get the picture. But what was most jaw dropping about the whole experience was that despite the insane heat (or what I perceive to be insane), people were enjoying themselves! There were clearly families walking together, college friends, work groups, all sorts of combinations of people not hitting the pavement alone, but making it a date with others.

 

Terry and I talk a lot about how East Lansing seems to lack a fitness culture, or one of health and well-being, and wondering why that was the case. Why is it that places like New York, New Orleans, and elsewhere seem to foster this community of getting out and working up a sweat, whereas other places do not? Yes, I am sure there are overarching reasons related to wealth, appearance, status, and the value the media places on a stick thin body, but I can't help but think that there must be something much more deeply rooted within a community for fitness to garner a high level of time and attention. 

Sidenote: I also thought of one of my best girlfriends while I was running. For everyone else reading, my amazing and wonderful friend is competing in her first 5K this month, and I am sad that I can't be at home to jog alongside her, encourage her, and hold a homemade sign along the race route as she hits this milestone. So while I want to get back in shape, I am also running as a sign of solidarity, challenge, and support- you can do it, Jules!