Some people overflow with energy. Positive energy—the kind that catches on, and that we all wish we could always carry inside us. People I talk to who make me want to get moving, leave, take a chance. They remind me that living with greater or lesser intensity depends on us, and that fear sometimes holds us back.
Maite is one of them.
Born in Soria, she was living in Madrid when she decided to put everything she knew on hold and start from scratch in Tokyo with her husband. Why not?
She is 42 and is known on social media as Maite Japon. She is an influencer, consultant, and freelance journalist; she has been a correspondent for Telecinco and currently works for Antena 3. She is also a mother of two. And now, recently, a runner.
She tells me that she has always loved exercising, but Asia captured her attention in every sense, and she put exercise on hold for a few years. However, she had played tennis as a child, and after a long period away from it, one day she said to herself, “I want to go back.” Some time later, a post-workout shower revealed a small lump in her breast. She was diagnosed with breast cancer, and fifteen days later she landed in Spain. Her illness was confirmed on December 23, and she underwent surgery on Three Kings’ night. That was two Christmases ago. “I never thought I was going to die,” she tells me. She was calm and happy to be able to receive treatment and have surgery. “If I had been born in another country or on another continent, I probably wouldn’t have had that opportunity. To me, everything was positive.” She didn’t need chemotherapy or radiation, and after two months of recovery she returned home—to Japan. And to tennis.
Last year, she couldn’t get a spot to play tennis, and that was when she considered taking up running. “I had tried it many years ago, but I found it incredibly boring, soporific, mentally destructive,” she confesses. I believe you, Maite. “But I thought, look, I have to do something. I went online, searched for ‘races in Tokyo,’ and saw ‘Tokyo half marathon in October.’ This was in April. And I signed up, just like that, out of nowhere. Just because.” From not being able to run for even twenty minutes straight to running a half marathon. Five months of effort and discipline, of believing in herself and trusting the process. With the help of sports and nutrition professionals, she did it. “I was so happy, because above all I wanted to run the half marathon while seeing my children and having them see me run it. And it was incredible.” Crossing the finish line was further proof that she could do whatever she wanted, but she is clear that she would not have failed if she hadn’t made it to the end. “For me, success was simply signing up for a half marathon at 42 and preparing for it. And seeing how far I could get.” She still runs. She says she loves this sport because it doesn’t depend on anyone else, and that running has strengthened the disciplined, committed-to-herself Maite.
“When I manage to finish my workouts. When I manage to keep running. What I feel before, during, and afterward. For me, it’s already a way of life.” She tells me that nothing has ever stood in her way, that she doesn’t see obstacles. I don’t know her, but I agree with her. I hope her wholehearted desire to live always wins out over the comfort of staying inside her comfort zone. After all, this article would not exist if Maite had never dared.
