The first Friday of June was a first for me and I was really proud and excited about this: my first Nike Run which means my first 10K run.
When I arrived in Milan and heard about this run I really felt that I wanted to participate in it, but I also knew that it was nearly impossible simply because I had never even tried to run 10K before. Even if I’d been a little athletic and even run before, I was really bad at running and 10K (in my mind) was just too much! Also I was pretty much convinced that running was boring and I couldn’t even bare the idea of doing it for about an hour!
But here comes the first reason why I love running: it doesn’t matter how trained you are and if you’ve never run in your life, you can become a runner if you really want and train for it. It happened for me, so I guess it can happen for anyone! I cannot train as much as I want, but twice a week is enough to get good results in a relatively short time. People have been telling me this for a long time, but I didn’t believe it until I decided to give it a try: in a few months I managed to run 5K. And even if I wasn’t proud of my pace, with time, motivation and effort I reached my goal!
Last year I missed the run because I wasn’t in town, but this year I managed to be there with my crew and participated in this great event: the Nike We Run is not only about running… indeed, there are so many things to do after the run! And since it’s only for women, you’ll find a lot of glamor. Starting with the beautiful goodie bag (this year designed by Paula Cademartori) and the lovely things inside of it (Kiko blush and nail polish for example!). It started (and ended) in one of the most glamorous areas of Milan (Piazza Gae Aulenti) and it crossed the whole city center including Duomo, via Montenapoleone, San Babila and believe me it was a nice show to see all these women (it seems around 10.000) dressed with orange fluo shirts, having a lot of fun!
Because (and this is reason two of why I love it) running isn’t boring at all: it helps building new friendships. You make new friends, meet people with the same passion (and believe me there are a lot!), and if you find the right place to train you can discover new things in your own city or wherever you decide to have a run.
I run with some friends. One of whom I trained and continue training with, and it is incredible how this passion got us addicted. But the great thing is that running makes you addicted to success, to set new goals and to be able to reach them and then to set new ones: it is a way of thinking and of living life that becomes your thought and your action. I’ve come to find myself more positive, strong, willing to accept challenges and more able to reach my goals, which I do and now I take time to celebrate them!
We Run Milano was my own personal celebration of all the things that I achieved this year regarding my health and fitness routine, and I couldn’t celebrate it any better! It was also the occasion to set new goals with the certainty that I will reach them, again.
This is indeed the greatest reason why I love running: it helps you believe in yourself and in your capabilities. It makes you stronger because it makes you understand that there is no limit to what you want to be except for the limitations that we create ourselves. So girls, be proud, be you, be whatever you want to be and run for it!
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