5 Km

Five kilometers is a long way. An out of shape person can easily sprint 100 or 200 meters and fake it, but long distance running, especially over 2 km is a different story. Today was day three of my in-shape quest. I get to use the university gym for free, and have been taking advantage of it. The first time I ran I made it to 2.5 before deciding to quit. Then it was 4, but with some walking in there, and then today I made it to 5 km, with a km of walking. But not just walking. Power walking, baby.

Running on a treadmill is brutal. No scenery. No air past your face to cool you down. Just the rhythmic thump of your feet on the rotating belt. Like a mouse on a wheel. And of course, a person to your left, and your right, and behind you, all sweating with a look of pain on their faces. Mouths open. I've tried to keep a positive mind while working out. I can maintain it till 2.5, and then it starts hurting, and my mind thinks of 1000 reasons why I've ran quite enough. Regardless of music or a tv screen to look at (today I watched a documentary on Gretzky) you can't zone out the pain. It's a mind game. When you know you only have half a km left, it takes longer, gets more tiring, and hurts more. I swear your heart rate goes up, leaving you more out of breath, and if you didn't keep score of it you'd be able to finish the run with as much grace as you began.

I grew up on a farm, with horses. I rode them all the time. I was always amazed with how well they did at trotting along for a long stretch. I was even more impressed with the dogs beside, keeping up, then sprinting off, coming back, sprinting somewhere else. Sure they panted and got tired, but they didn't seem to care. Then there are human beings. We run up a flight of stairs and collapse at the top.

Regardless of the ridiculousness of working out, I like it. I mean, I hate it, but love it. That feeling of sore muscles. That you've worked your body like it's meant to be worked, instead of sitting on the couch. Sometimes I wish humanity was more animal-like. Living in little huts amidst the wild. Hunting for food, running from predators. Instead we test our skills of how many wpm we can type. If we can beat a video game. If a sports team doing all the work can win the series for us. If we can cram enough information in our heads to puke it up in words all over a piece of crisp, white paper and get it back with an A on it.

I would much rather be Tarzan and Jane.

There are two kinds of utopia. One is filled with technology to better our lives. The other has none. I think I'd rather choose none. Getting in shape to be able to run 5 kilometers is a feat, and possibly a good one (at least the doctor, or a track coach would agree). But what a lousy reason to get in shape. (I mean another good reason is that I think the belly shirt is coming back in style - and I am not missing out on that trend.) Even sports. I love sports. But to chase a ball around and earn a cheer, a pat on the back. A fat pay cheque? No. The animals have it way better. They fly and run and stay in shape because they have to to survive. We're just fat lazy beings who like to look dece in a bikini, and can smash a volleyball to fit into society.

We need a better reason to stay in shape. Humanity has definitely lost it's edge.