Day 69, Cartagena: Running on top of the wall - can this be called an extreme sport?

I did it I did it I did it! Almost five months after the accident I went running again! I think physically I’ve been ok for a while now but mentally not quite. These past weeks I was really trying hard but I just couldn’t. Every time I planned to go for a run, I would panic last minute and go do something else. But this week I decided that I just can’t live with this fear anymore, that at some point I have to stop being afraid of cars and crossing the street. So I went for a run on Thursday night and again this morning. Even better, this morning I did what I swore I would do in Cartagena: I went running on top of the wall that circles the old town!

I think living in Cartagena is exactly what I needed to get over the accident (or start getting over). The traffic here is crazy and there is nothing I can do about it. Either I get used to it, or I stay locked in my apartment. With this attitude I already feel more or less comfortable walking and crossing the street so running was the natural next step. In reality it doesn’t change anything because I of course stop at the crosswalk and take a deep breath before running across the road. But it’s all in my head. The simple though of putting my running shoes on, going out and standing on the sidewalk ready to cross, makes me live again that one second when I stood still, saw the car coming and realized that I didn’t have time to move before it would hit me. And then it hit me and I flew in the air. But let’s not think about that. I’m fine now and I’m so glad that I can start running again because I love it. I only did 30 minutes on Thursday and 1 hour today (photo shooting included) but what a feeling, it is a good start. I can't believe how much I missed running.
 
Here’s some pictures I took this morning:

Not easy to take a selfie when the sun shines right to your eyes:

Thursday night I started smooth and did as J suggested, I went running on the beach. J, I was wrong, actually it is possible to run quite a long way on the beach without having to get back to the road or to cross the street.

Running on the beach, I thought again about how amazing the weather is here in Cartagena, and how amazing it is to be able to go running in mini shorts and a top in the winter. Then I realized that it is already March which I consider spring, not winter. Funny how the winter felt so short this year! :) But if I want to go running in the morning I have to wake up even earlier because at 8.30am it was already 30 degrees and I was dying in the heat. You see, it is not easy living in the Caribbean..
 
xx Emi

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