No Running in the Dining Room, by Natalia
“No running in the dining room,” said one of my many managers on many occasions. I always hated running and yet here I was running through the dining room because I forgot to put a course line between starters and mains and I KNOW, Chef is going to give me an earful if it all goes out at once. I just hit send too soon, without looking it over and… ugh. Always moving too fast.
When I was in high school, as soon as the mile run came up in gym class I would whine and moan and drag my sorry teenage ass all around the track until it was over (with several walk breaks in-between). Throw me in a pool and I’ll channel my inner Katie Ledecky and swim for hours. But running? Absolutely no thank you. I didn’t like running because I didn’t understand where I was going. Why was I just running in circles or without a final destination. Just running. I couldn’t focus – always distracted worrying about every little thing that was completely irrelevant. I also couldn’t just ZIP through it like everything else in my life; you run too fast and you’ll exhaust yourself. Running is all about pacing yourself.
But that’s how I move, I sprint through life without a second thought. It’s helped and hurt me through my 34 years. Going about a million miles a minute, from one bar to the next. Chasing the good time. Sadly, it’s true, wine does not hydrate you! Neither does gin, vodka, Champagne, fernet, beer, tequila and especially not cocaine. So, it was no wonder that when I joined the wild world of hospitality, and my go-to became a line of coke and some kind of alcoholic beverage, running and exercise were so far down the list of ways to make me feel better that I only got worse. I wasn’t an addict so to speak, but I was addicted to a good time and if you have ever taken drugs you know they can be rather moreish. I also really love talking – someone told me the other day I tell long stories (I am working on that) and so cocaine was like adding fuel to the fire. What’s that you say? Something that makes you talk more! I’m in. This is not however an article telling you about the social perks of drug taking, this is about running. I told you I tell long stories, so bear with me while I get to my point.
In my past, when something went wrong I drank. When something went right, I drank. Drinking for me has and always will be my favourite antidepressant. Things certainly have escalated over my years in hospitality and I will not sit here and say my time with class A’s and psychedelics are at a close. Because I would be lying. What I will say, is that running is saving me. I crave it. I need it, and you can’t do it when you have been up all night on drugs talking in circles about how many times table 4 asked for salt.
I started slow. Just a couple of kilometres here, a couple of kilometres there. Listen to a podcast that would distract me but teach me something. Use it as my down time away from people. In this industry – no matter whether you are front of house, back of house, PR or HR – we are around people ALL the time. Throw in a relationship, friends, family and we never have any quiet. Running became my quiet. What it also taught me was to SLOW DOWN. They say you should be able to hold a conversation while running, so that’s the pace I go. Look at that! Running AND talking – who knew my favourite hobby would intertwine so well with my new one.
I think back to that manager telling me to stop running through the dining room – to be fair I must have always looked like a disaster speeding through a Michelin restaurant with who knows what in my hands and the fear of god in my eyes – and I think, yes, I should have slowed down. I should have been more aware of my surroundings, of the impact my speed of movement would have on the guests in the dining room, instead of cruising through with my own personal agenda. I have taken this lesson of moving at a more tortoise-like pace and applied it to my everyday. It does not always stick, but I am taking it one day at a time. Afterall, someone once told me ‘it’s a marathon, not a sprint’.
What I can’t run without…
Nike Run Club App – I would die without it. There are timed runs with a coach who talks you through and a parternship with Headspace, for mindful runs. I did my first ‘long run’ thanks to the app! And there is an excellent playlist called ‘The Long Run’ with some excellent tunes. I am goal orientated. I like to know how far I have gone and that pushes me to run more, so it’s great to hear how many kilometers you’ve run and what your splits are.
A GREAT podcast. Some of my favourites…
How I Built This with Guy Raz / (listen to Glossier, Headspace, Air BnB, Marcia Kilgore, SoulCycle, Bumble – to name a few, but they are ALL excellent.) Usually the one you think the one you will be the least interested in, is the one you get the most from (see Glossier episode, I listened to it 3x)
Desert Island Discs (most recently Thom Yorke – incredible.)
A good running outfit. I want to feel good in what I am wearing! I love Adidas, I have a couple pairs of their leggings that have a sheer bit at the back of your calf, which allows the air to keep you cool when you work up a sweat. I also have a dri-fit top from Nike I got as a souvenir from the first 10k I did back in Victoria Park, called ‘We Own the Night’. It was an all-female run at night and the top is BRIGHT orange. Always makes me feel like a boss when I run in it.
Water. Both to drink and to look at. I am spoiled living by the sea, but even when I am in another city, I make sure I find the nearest body of water to run near, which keeps me calm and happy.