If you can't find a reason to get up and go for a run, here's a pretty compelling one: TO BE HAPPY.
If you already run but your satisfaction depends on the stopwatch, dare to head out to FEEL, not to measure yourself.
If running against yourself is no longer enough motivation, go ahead and RUN WITH YOURSELF.
Remember: being a runner is something innate, something that's yours and yours alone. It isn't the kilometers, the paces or the races that make you a runner. YOU ARE A RUNNER because running defines who you are, it's part of you.
Today we're handing the mic to our friend and amateur runner Montserrat Calvera. She inspires us to practice this sport from the inside, from within ourselves, without letting outside influences seep in and dictate how we live this inner journey that is #elartedecorrer.
RUNNING
I humbly got started with this running thing about 5 years ago.
I'm a social runner, not a competitive one, and I confess that for me, one of the best things about running is the donut I treat myself to after a good workout or local race.
Running isn't just running.
Running makes me feel good inside and out.
Running oxygenates what I think, what I feel.
I don't obsess over it. My goal is to feel good.
There are good days and much better days, and when it comes to how it feels… the worst is when I stay on the couch, and the best… when I step out of the shower after a run.
I'd pass women running in the street and they looked happy, sexy, healthy… that's what I wanted for myself.
I started out training on my own, 2-1-2, looking for incentives like manageable 5km races and, why not admit it… a new pair of tights, a cute T-shirt, meeting up with a friend… little motivation boosters… girl stuff.
Over time I've found a group of women who run and who share my philosophy of going with the flow in life, and with them I keep enjoying the social runner who lives inside me.
I train once or twice a week. I take part in local races, and I've already done a few 10km ones.
I don't mind not being the fastest. If I compete for anything, it's to be happy doing what I do the way I do it, but I admit that knocking a minute off my personal best gives me a satisfaction on par with the donut moment.
Montserrat Calvera