One of my new year’s resolutions was to walk/bike three times a week. I’ve been doing that at the Ann Arbor YMCA and on my way around the track I’ve observed my fellow walkers/runners … and then some. Here are some random thoughts/observations.
~Interesting to watch the different ways people run. Some on their toes, one barefoot, one in stocking feet, many just chugging along. There are a few who are really expert runners – those who make it look effortless. They appear to be gliding.
~Twice I’ve been at the YMCA when a young soccer player has been running around the track with the soccer ball. I love watching him take the ball around the track. He is quite an expert and it is with pleasure I watch him. He is lightening fast, never trips on the ball, and is quite “in the moment”. Occasionally he runs the opposite way the traffic is moving. One night he whooshed by me in the opposite direction and a moment later I felt the breeze in his wake. It was exhilarating.
~The kids are a trip. On Friday nights there are three basketball games going on in the gym below the track. To me it appears to be barely controlled chaos and the kids have a great time … especially on the rare occasions when the ball actually goes through the hoop.
~On Saturdays one third of the gym is set up for gymnastics class. The three or four year old kids are learning to somersault. The older kids are doing back flips on the balance beam. It’s all fun to watch.
~Most of us on the track are alone. Some come in pairs. Most are wired with iPods. It appears to me that I am the only one who occasionally sings along. If you listened closely, you’d hear me occasionally sing snippets of Spanish lyrics, their meaning completely unknown to me, since my walking music is World Music. If you watch closely, you might be able to pick up on the fact that I would rather be dancing than walking. 🙂