run

run: (v) to go quickly by moving the legs more rapidly than at a walk and in such a manner that for an instant in each step all or both feet are off the ground.

Yesterday I had a very rude awakening. I am severely out of shape. I went for a run, for the first time since July. YIKES. I thought my lungs were going to collapse. A natural feeling after going 3 and a half months without running, or really any regular exercise.

Before moving here this was not something I had expected. When I lived here in the summer of 2009 I was in great shape. My job all summer was to hike. Yes, I had to conduct surveys and take pictures and explain our research, but the hiking was background music. We took a truck to whatever village we were working in that day and hiked from there. Houses in these villages are spread out all across the mountains, and up and down the mountains we went. From 7am until 7pm every day, my job gave me great exercise.

This year I am a different employee. I teach all day. Spanish is my background music and the most strenuous part of my day is the 20 walk to and from school.

I recently had another rude awakening. A few weeks ago Andrew came down on a business trip from the States. He was able to bring a bag of goodies from home that my Mom had packed for me ahead of time. Among the goods was my bathroom scale. Stepping onto that for the first time in months was terrifying and the results were nothing short of alarming. Since living here I have put on a significant amount of weight. I knew by the way my clothes fit and just by looking in the mirror that weight had been put on, but the number made it real. Lack of exercise and the Honduran diet, where all food is prepared with loads of salt, oil and sugar, is definitely to blame.

A few weeks ago I began preparing my own meals and buying my own food, as opposed to eating the food prepared for the family. The reason for this decision has less to do with the amount of weight I've been gaining, and more to do with the health hazards the food has inflicted upon me. But, I have no doubts that the diet I choose for myself will benefit me in more ways than one.

The other key ingredient in the weight gain has been the lack of exercise. Solving this problem is a bit more complicated than the food issue. It is not socially acceptable to go running here, nor is it acceptable to wear shorts. As a female, any time I step outside of my house I run a high risk of being verbally harassed in Spanish by any male age 8-80, I kid you not. And to top it all off, I am a Gringa. Running through town is not an option for all of these reasons. Running on a path out to a small village would eliminate the exposure to verbal harassment and town gossip, but would increase my vulnerability to physical harassment or kidnapping if someone decided to do something stupid. Stuck.

Recently, a discovery had been made at our school. Up the mountain that sits behind our school is path of stairs that leads to 2 platforms. At the beginning of this school year a decision was made to expand the path upward and beyond the front face of the mountain. The path is now complete and not only climbs to the top of the mountain, but there is also a path that wraps around the back of the mountain rising and falling with the landscape. The discovery is that it is a wonderful place to run. The terrain is killer. Up and down very steep inclines with a few less steep inclines, stairs, windy curves, and flat runs thrown in the mix. The elevation takes you far beyond the highest hill in La Union and offers great vistas all around. The mountain is littered with woods and other vegetation, which offers pleasant shade and shelter from onlookers below. The best part of it all is that the path is part of school property, school property which is fenced in and under 24 hour security. So I can come up to the school whenever I choose, wear shorts and run all up and down the mountain without a problem. Well, without any social problems. I have plenty of physical problems running that path, it's an ass kicker.