Is it possible that I am actually starting to really enjoy running? It seems odd to be looking forward to my morning runs, so much so that I have to stop myself from running every day. Weird. It might in part be due to signing up for a half marathon on December 5th with Laurie, the French intern at the office – www.runbarbados.org. I thought it was totally doable until I checked online only to find that the average finish time for a relatively fit woman is around 2 hours. In this heat, it will be quite the challenge for a distance noob like me. I ran about 10km last Sunday, and this Sunday, maybe 12km – so I’m sure I’ll survive. Though the race starts at 5am, harkening back to my press clipping hours. Here are some things I have observed while on my runs so far:
1. Everyone here owns a guard dog, or two, or three. This makes running a heart-attack-inducing activity, with the domino effect coming into full force and before long, the entire block becomes a chorus of different yelps, barks and growls. It’s a little much at 6:30am.
2. I have an unofficial running buddy here. Most mornings I see this old man, with mildly bowed legs, in his navy wife beater and red shorts. We always nod knowingly at each other as we are both dripping with sweat. This always makes me smile, like we have made a little connection. The other day, he seemed to have started pushing a small bicycle wheel alongside him with a stick. Now that takes skills.
3. I cannot seem to shake Sam, a delightful teacher who we met at Oistins, the Friday night fish market, our first week in Barbados. He lives up the street and always sees me running and wants to chit chat about everything. Run away!
4. On my evening runs, I’m still taunted by the distant bell chimes of the ice cream truck. Still unsuccessful in my attempts at figuring that one out.
More to come as the training continues. Wish me luck!
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