Night Runner

Once upon a time, there was a girl who enjoyed running.  In elementary school, she prided herself on being one of the fastest in her grade, and she could always run faster than the boys.  Fast forward to high school, as the girl was trying to decide what club (and essentially what group of people) she would join.  She decided to try out the track and field club, remembering how much she'd enjoyed running in the past.  It turned out that track and field wasn't really her thing - she'd never really been a competitive person - so she joined the theatre club instead.

She went to college, got married, had a baby, but since she'd had a baby so early, she lost the weight easily.  In fact, she'd always had a high metabolism, so she could eat whatever she wanted and not exercise.

But then she hit her 30's.

Suddenly, she found her metabolism slowing down, and it was harder to eat whatever she wanted to without feeling guilty about it later.  Pants were starting to get tighter and more uncomfortable.  She thought about dieting, but she was a realistic woman.  She knew she could never fully say goodbye to bread and cheese and all the foods that make life worth living.

Her husband suggested she start running.  She laughed it off at first.  "Me, run?  I still get winded when I go up the stairs to the subway station every morning!"  But she saw how well it worked for him, so she decided to give it a shot.  First it was for 30 minutes only and it was more fast-walking than anything.  Then she found that she could keep up a good jogging pace for 35 without having to stop.  She could feel herself getting stronger, and able to run just a little bit fast every time.  It felt good.

Her favorite time to run was at night after dinner.  It was quiet, and she didn't have to worry about the stares of people she passed by.   The route felt faster at night, and the air was cooler.  She could hear people eating dinner, talking to their families.  Even better, it was a chance for her and her husband to talk about their days and it became such a bonding experience that she began to look forward to it every night.

She's not gonna run any marathons any time soon, or break any speed records, but she's stronger, healthier, and skinnier (down 2kg) than she was before.  And that's something.