The breath… How can it change all your life?
When I was a kid and watching my mother in the emergency room of the hospital… That was the moment I learned how a breath can change a person’s life…
I realized it when I saw her with a oxygen mask over her mouth behind the window of the emergency area. She was looking at me and trying to hide what happened… With a weak smile so that I wouldn’t be sad…
My mother had chronic asthma, breath problems in all her life. On that evening, the people around her ignored it and smoked in the closed area and afterwards…
In those years, I loved running in the streets, playing ball, like any other kid… But there was a problem I noticed later… I started to feel short of breath… I was scared to be in the situation of my mother and didn’t want to share it with anyone… Not even to my mom. Not to make her sad…
Years passed. When I was 17, a teacher taught me a few breathing exercise techniques to prepare myself for the exams better. It was like a little miracle for me. Over the time, I practiced different variations of the technique on my own, trying to find the version that worked best for me…
Breathing in, breathing out, and doing it at slow and sometimes fast… It really worked… Sometimes I combined it with little meditations… Still…
Now I had to make this breathing exercise longer… And how? By practicing sports? I was already doing it. Maybe a different one? What could it be? Something fast, practical and I wouldn’t get bored with.
I wanted to run…
After a tiring day, it was a perfect activity to calm and relieve the stress. Coming back home from the office, taking a banana, and starting to run through the sunset…
The same evening and the next morning were wonderful… I could feel my breathing getting better… Even though I was running longer distances, I was getting less tired.
In time, I started to set little goals for myself every time I was running for fun… 2.5, 3 and then 5 kilometers… I was running once a week… First I tried it in the evening. Then I wondered what if I could do it in the morning..
I tried it in the morning. The effect was amazing and I felt energized all day…
Then I decided to do it twice a week… One evening during the week and one morning on the weekend…
I started researching… Reading articles and books… But my priority was to design my own running plan based on how I felt.
Running was starting to change my life. There were new parameters that came into my life. Max. Heart Rate, pace, calories, distance, etc..
On the other hand, I was feeling more creative. My body started to take a better shape with the diet plan.
Also, I didn’t have much difficulty with last-minute flights at airports…
I enjoyed running as a hobby, but eventually, I had the urge to set a serious goal. It was a part of my character.
What was the next…
Why don’t I prepare myself for a race? A marathon? Too much. Half marathon? Still too much… 5km, not enough… 10 km?
I was not sure if I could do 10 km in one time without a break since I had never tried before… I was concerned if I’d have enough breath, but it was worth a try. At least, it was a realistic goal…
A friend told me about the La Merce run. 10 kilometers race and it was kind of social responsibility event. The money raised would be donated. It was perfectly suiting my motivation. Both as a goal and a mission…
I started to prepare myself..
40 days…
I ran alone. I ran with a friend… Participated in running events to simulate the race mindfully…
I wasn’t going to run 10 km until the day of the race…
Now, every training session was kind of a race, not a hobby anymore.. I was competing with myself… Trying to take my goal one step further each training… Taking notes and trying to improve the performance…
The race day.
When I arrived at the starting point at 8 am in the morning and observed what’s happening around. There were 2 groups… The first one was very well-prepared professionals. And the other one was those who came to have fun. I think I belonged to the group between these two groups..
The race started.. The first 5km was very good… At 6 and 7 km, I slowed down slightly. I struggled in 8-9 kilometers… I was wearing a cotton t-shirt and all the sweat had accumulated in the t-shirt and was weighing me down…
The last kilometer, I was motivated and increased my speed. I was dreaming of reaching the finish line. I forgot my tiredness and I was feeling my adrenaline rising… It was like seeing water in the desert and in this case, it was the finishing line for me…
(Before the race, a friend told me to be careful with adrenaline. He fainted in his first 10km because his brain overtook his physical performance… 🙂 )
Luckily, I completed the race. It was one of the best moments of my life.
I felt happiness in every single cell of my body.
Running started as a little fun and turned into a serious goal for me… At the end, it was a very meaningful and emotional adventure… Still makes me smile..
The next goal for me is to run in the mountains, trail running… 🙂
Now, I feel that it was a mental practice more than a physical competition..
My mom…
By the way, my mom… Years later, her stress level has decreased after the changes that my sister and I made in her life. She is not on medication and is not afraid anymore. She tries to be physically active as much as she can… Some days, more active than me…
the last words…
We as human are really very strong beings, as long as we believe we can make it…
So, let’s just try! Life is short… 🙂
No Comments