This morning I went for a run in the Casa De Campo. Casa De Campo is a 7-mile stretch of park west of downtown Madrid that used to be the royal hunting ground. It is across town from where I live and where I usually go running (Parque de Buen Retiro).
This little change in location felt empowering. First, it forced me to get on public transit for a run, something I usually consider to be a total waste of time. But it was nice to review the metro map, examining the stops I don’t usually get off at (Madrid has three metro stops in Casa De Campo, a phenomenal show of good planning in a culture that views train schedules as “suggestions”). I felt inspired to enlist some other small changes in my routine.
Most substantial: I walked.
Usually, the goal of my running routine is to get a steady stream of endorphins flowing as fast as possible. Twenty minutes of running as fast as possible (ie: not very fast) is usually sufficient. Today, I wanted something different. Instead, I wanted an adventure (of the cheap, close, local variety). I wanted to coax my brain into a place of escape, rather than a place of chemically-enhanced happiness. I wanted to notice the trees and slow down my thoughts. Walking fit my mood.
Eventually: I put on a podcast.
After I had been satisfactorily re-introduced to our urban nature environment, I decided to check out my podcast selection. I download podcasts in great, energetic piles about 3 times a year. I try to listen to them while I’m falling asleep or walking to work in the mornings. Generally, I lose interest after about three days and let them sit collecting dust in my little stretch of broadband for months at a time. Today, I picked up where I left off in October with two selections:
“Meanwhile, in the Future” by Gizmodo
“Happier” by Gretchen Rubin
I would highly recommend both “channels”. Today, I learned about the possibility that we can genetically engineer humans to combat climate change and the research on dark matter of Harvard professor Lisa Randall (I’m sure there are slightly less geeky components to both if those ideas do not sound as appealing to you as they do to me).
On the way home: I bought flowers.
There is actually nothing that unusual about me buying flowers. It’s something I do every weekend that I find myself by the flower stand. The flower stand, however, is on the way to Casa De Campo and not on the way to Retiro : )
Today, I bought some butter-yellow craspedias (see photo).
For other great things to do in Madrid, click here. Banner photo is my own, from Casa de Campo in 2019.