Entre Les Murs

Sunday Run

A good friend once remarked that making a major move such as to another country allows you to reinvent yourself. When no one knows you, you are the only source of information about you, so you can claim anything you want for yourself - as long as you can follow through and act accordingly you can create a new reality. This struck a chord after all my moving around with the Forces and as a consultant; but at the same time a new place can also reinvent you. Here I am, a dedicated runner for over fifteen years, yet I haven't been for a proper run since I arrived. First it was the physical work of moving and painting that left no energy for a workout. Then it was partly inertia and partly just feeling a little guilty about taking time for something that feels so self-indulgent when there's so much else to be getting on with. So what's the new reality? In France am I to go from trim professional project manager to droopy dilettante house-husband?

Not if I can help it. I just got back from a rainy four miles in the Bois de Boulogne. It was actually a mile or so further than planned, but my Garmin couldn't find a satellite for the first mile. That happens when it has been moved a long distance; it was looking for the satellites over Toronto. (Passersby would have seen me barking at my wrist "France, you idiot! We're in France!".)

Consequently I emerged from the park on an unfamiliar street, with no help from the GPS to find my way home. Sometimes I try to get a little lost on a long Sunday run; but not when my muscles have such limited stamina. On the plus side, I found just a few blocks from home shopping streets and neighbourhoods I'd never seen before.

It seems foolish to plan a recovery day after only one workout; but I suspect I won't have much choice tomorrow. Perhaps I can spend the day working on changing the "dilettante" part.

posted 19.2.06