Getting Away With It

"Doesn't this feel like it's something you shouldn't be doing? Like this is something forbidden you're getting away with?"

The question is posed by Christopher McDougall as he introduces Brian Fidelman to barfoot running in Central Park, NY. And for some reason the question stuck with me. There's a lot of stuff we're not supposed to do. Smiling when running is one thing. Running too much is another: As Mårten Klingberg points out in Swedish Runner's World, training 3 times a week constitutes about 2% of your total time, and yet he is the one getting strange looks for training 7-9 times a week.

So there I was. Nurturing a slowly disappearing cold on a business trip to Milan. By the second day the mucus floods had started dissipate and I aimed myself down-town to at least catch an evening of food and tourism. Milan is one of those cities it is easy to pass by but once there you wonder why you did. For a geek like me, just patting the walls of Teatro La Scala, or gazing in awe at the magnificant Cathedral is enough. It is easy enough to pass by, but when you're there the history strikes you nevertheless: Milan for example, is after all a city founded some 400 years before Christ and one of the most important cities in Italian history, and hence, also in early European history.

The cold and the trip had conspired to stop me in my tracks. It was now 4 days since I run last, and being on the verge of getting seriously addicted, it... itched. And yet, with another business day to go I didn't want to do something stupid. At least, not sober.

On my way back to the hotel I realized that conveniently located a kilometer or so before my last stop was BQ, Milans best beer pub (according to Ratebeer). Well hell, I had half a bottle of wine in me already but I'd be a very bad beer nerd if I didn't stop by. And so I did. And the Baüscia LA 30 was nice indeed. As was the Grassroots Brewing Nighthawks at the dinner. And... there it was again, the itch!

"Doesn't this feel like it's something you shouldn't be doing? Like this is something forbidden you're getting away with?"

So tell me: why shouldn't I simply run the way back to the hotel? Slightly inebriated in the middle of a Tuesday night in Milan? In jeans and a jacket? I mean, seriously, I do have my Merrel Trail Gloves on, so it's not like I'm not being prepared!

This slightly big (by Italian standards), slightly goofy (by any standard), and indeed somewhat beard-y, fellow sprinting out of the door (after paying, mind you) and off in the night with a big grin on his face must have looked silly, but what do I care? When the weather's nice Italy is the place to be early autumns: the Mediterranean night is just to kill for. Warm but not too warm. Humid, but just so. And people everywhere on the streets. Running along the pavement with my jacket in one hand, sidestepping puddles, tricking a bit on a low rail and grinning all the while; I've been in love with Italy for a long time, this will just be another reason.

"Doesn't this feel like it's something you shouldn't be doing? Like this is something forbidden you're getting away with?"

Oh hell yes!