Some people are overflowing with energy. Positive energy, the kind that rubs off on you and that we all wish we could always carry within us. People I talk to who make me want to get moving, leave, take a chance. People who remind me that living with greater or lesser intensity depends on us, and that fear sometimes limits us.
Maite is one of them.
Born in Soria, she was living in Madrid when she decided to draw a line under everything she knew and start from scratch in Tokyo with her husband. Why not?
She is 42 years old and is known on social media as Maite Japon. She is an influencer, consultant, and freelance journalist; she has worked as a Telecinco correspondent and currently works for Antena 3. She is also a mother of two. And now, for some time, a runner.
She tells me that she has always loved playing sports, but that 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. They confirmed the diagnosis on December 23 and operated on her 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. Everything felt positive to me.” She did not need chemotherapy or radiotherapy, 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 already tried it many years ago, but I found it incredibly boring, soporific, mentally destructive,” she confesses. I believe you, Maite. “But I said, 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 being unable to run for even twenty minutes straight to running a half marathon. Five months of effort and discipline, of believing in yourself and trusting yourself. And with the help of sports and nutrition professionals, she did it. “I was very 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 had not made it to the end. “For me, success simply meant signing up for a half marathon at 42 and training for it. And seeing how far I could get.” She still runs. She says she loves this sport because it does not depend on anyone else, and that running has strengthened the disciplined Maite, committed to herself.
When I manage to finish my workouts. Being able to keep running. What I feel before, during, and after. For me, it is already a lifestyle.” She tells me that nothing has ever stood in her way, that she does not see obstacles. I don’t know her, but I agree with her. May her wholehearted desire to live always overcome the comfort of staying inside her comfort zone. After all, this article would not exist if Maite had never dared to take the leap.
