05/26/2018

It was 6:40 am when I closed the door behind me and started jogging towards the community center. Living a block away from a great lawn and an elementary school, I enjoy the peace in the weekend mornings and every evening. The towering hundred-year-old trees, used to be utilized as a wall to shield wind for the vast field, are basking in the morning sun. The palm trees line up straight and tall to the sky, with some golden ripening dates hanging heavily on the top. The newly trimmed Jacaranda trees are spreading their new tender leaves. Soon it will be their flowering season.  People said that when it is the time, entering into our community surrounded by clusters of blooming trees on both sides is like touring a small town in France.

Now imagine me jogging in the area, the lawn, the school, tennis courts, swimming pools and the playground, with only one or two pedestrians walking their dogs in leash.  The sun is shining upon the gleaming morning dews on the tips of grass, while birds are walking (yes, walking with two feet like chickens), looking for food or chasing each other. The chirping sounds from the nearby trees are crisply audible, intermittently mingled with rythmic hitting sounds of tennis balls.  I jogged for a few minutes, walked for a bit longer, and then picked it up again. It was my second day of jogging.

I was never a sport person, and jogging is my least favorite. I remember that at middle school and high school, whenever there was an 800-meter running test, I either ended up throwing up or pale faced.  Growing older one day in the recent years, I found out my heart rate was faster than normal (It could have occurred long time ago, except that I was not aware of it.). Or more than that. Three years ago, when the hiking team was climbing the strenuous uphill, I was the only dropout whose lips turned purple, and had to lie down on the dirt road for more oxygen. “A heart is like a pump. The quicker it pumps blood, the more easily it wears and tears”, said Mom one day when she realized that I had the same problem as hers.

Now that hiking is no longer an option, jogging becomes the best solution. Can I keep it up?  Hard as it may seem at the beginning, it boils down to one thing: determination.