THE JOGGING INSPIRATION
February 2021
Running inspires.
Childhood
In grade two, I share this after-school jogging experience with my fourth-grader friend and his dad. His dad often took us jogging along the park after school. As a first-timer, I could not keep up with their pace. His dad soon gave me a rough indication of the route. Before they faded out into the woods, I replied “Okay” as if I understood what he meant. To my dismay, I began losing confidence as I lost track of directions. No, I thought, I have to look as if I belong here. I do not want to end up like my friend, M, who missed his school bus without his parents’ presence, so to have the police cruiser serving as his “school bus” along with a gentle warning issued to his parents for leaving their child alone on the streets. I kept on jogging as if I own the park.
Naïveté
What followed was an annual non-competitive, ranked, jogging competition organized by the same primary school I attended. I received a small number “twelve” (I ranked 12th) upon crossing the finishing line. An acquaintance I barely have much impression dashed over: “Hey, we have been good friends, right? So, we can swap cards?”, I naïvely handed over my “12” to realize it was a number “26” before I can get a clearer impression of this “friend.”
Photo / I often visited this park as a kid, located in Westmount, Québec, Canada.
Source / Google Street View (Contributor: Emma Midghall). Photographed September 2019.
First Milestone
As a second-grader, the idea of distance and unit were far too alien to me. It was not until middle school that I recognized the challenges involved to consistently jog for kilometres (or miles) as a pupil. One day, my neighbour came over with a newspaper that shows a snapshot of me jogging in a park (the illustration was quite large). I never thought I would make the papers one day! For the record, I had no knowledge of the snapshot whatsoever. In grade eight, I had the opportunity to receive a lung capacity test during P.E. class. I somehow managed to receive a result of 6200 mL; all my peers were in the 2000 to 4000 range; my P.E. teacher received a 5000.
Fun
It was a sweltering summer. To keep up with my jogging habit, I had to find something “engaging” in the meanwhile. I started trying what my dad calls the “Memorizing-English-vocabulary-while-jogging” method: I wrote down ten words on a flashcard, and for each lap, I would memorize one to two words. After several unsuccessful attempts (more like an unpleasant experience), I remained highly skeptical of this learning method, for it was exhausting! Perhaps it was due to the uninspiring and monotonous nature of those ten words. I, then, changed my perspective: I was attracted by the idea of the phonetic alphabet used by airport traffic control – I wanted to master the use of such alphabet.
Graph / The 26-letter phonetic alphabet used by some international organizations.
After nearly a decade, I can still apply the phonetic alphabet by heart. Though these letters do not come practical in life, I took pleasure in the experience. Ha! Sounds nerdy, doesn’t it?
How to Breath
Once, dad asked me how I breathe when jogging, I tried to reconstruct the jogging experience, but to no avail. Indeed, I may describe the breathing pattern verbatim, but it’s hard for someone who has not had a similar experience to relate to it. This reminds me of my experience in language acquisition. In which, many aspects that cannot be easily explained. Those of you who have some knowledge of French grammar must be familiar with the frequent “irregularities”. Perhaps, only linguists can shed light on such irregularities. Yet, considering how extensive and eventful life may be, it would be unfeasible to unearth and scrutinize all aspects of life. Hmm, time to head back to my jogging.
The Best Today
There is no universal way to breathe when jogging, nor is there a best park route – only what works best. My jogging experience is much comparable to my growing up experience; including language acquisition; cultural adaptation; pursuing my aspirations and each aha moment.
