Posted on July 12, 2014, by cruisingrunner
Sure, running is good for you, no one disputes that. Although, I have had the odd person, like my doctor, remark that I shouldn’t run because it’s bad for my knees, or something like that. That was right after she gave me my blood work back and told me I was the healthiest 40 something women she’d seen in a long time. But I digress.
So, most people, even within the medical profession, don’t usually dispute that running is good for you. But I’m finding, especially now, that it is providing me so much more than physical benefits. And I don’t just mean the obvious that it puts me in better mood and makes me feel better emotionally and all that, even though all that is true. What I mean now is that running is encouraging me to get out there and see more.
I enjoyed another trail run along the motu this morning before the wind and rain picked up. I parked my paddle board in front of Harry’s house again, bid him good morning, and headed in the direction of the pack of dogs that had previously intimidated me into turning around. When I asked, Harry told me he wouldn’t be working on copra today (maybe because of the impending rain?) but instead he would be working on a construction project, which looks like a pier or dock or something. I passed the same two people along the trail, exchanged names this time, and one of the men offered to open a coconut for me (with a machete, of course) if I would like some water. I (hopefully) politely declined and kept running towards the dogs. I got pretty close before they noticed me, and they aren’t exactly the best guard dogs, because when one started barking, another also started barking but also started running in the wrong direction. I solved the situation by heading for the house calling, “Bonjour, Bonjour!” And this is how I met Bowie, as in David Bowie (he said that, not me). He quieted the dogs, and he offered me coffee and breakfast and told me when he was done eating he would begin working on the copra. He told me how the “grand bateau” takes the copra to Tahiti, and he seemed quite proud of this. He also told me his dad is American. All this was in French, so don’t quote me on it.
See, I’m shy. Or introverted. Or something. When given the choice, I will intentionally interact with as few people as possible on a daily basis. If it weren’t for my desire to run, I would not be having these short, but not insignificant (at least to me) connections with the people who live here on Mopelia. In addition, I’ve seen much more of the motu than I otherwise would have. Since I run without music and podcasts now, I am quite aware and in tune with my surroundings. I rarely zone out, like I used to do on long runs at home. I noticed that there is still evidence of destruction both in the foliage and in the manmade constructions from past cyclones that have ravaged the atoll. I’ve run down little detours to the edges of the atoll, both within the lagoon and out to the ocean and taken in the varying sights and smells. I’ve run from dogs.
Running gets me to shore, by myself, for more than just errands.
Running is my outreach.
-D.
Gresham Family Exodus 