I'm Going to Say It...I Enjoy Running

I ran track in junior high and high school. I was never an all-star, nor did I enjoy it all that much. 

I ran sporadically throughout college and after. 

I would run with my dog Bob (R.I.P. Bob), and then when I moved in with Michael I liked to do a bike/run combo most days. But it was never more than a few miles. 

Last summer Michael challenged me to run a marathon, something that had literally never ever crossed my mind. I laughed at him and initially said no way. But I think it was an hour later that I said, Ok, I’ll do it. 

So I trained for and ran a marathon last fall, doing a 5K and sprint triathlon in the process. But then I took a break over the winter because running in the cold is not my thing, and I had burnt myself out with marathon training. Now that warmer weather is here I’m running regularly again. 

A little over a month ago my mom and I started training together because I convinced her to run a half marathon with me. 

We just did a 10K this past weekend that was awesome. I think it's super helpful to not only have something your training for but to also do races along the way. It spices the training up and allows you to get jazzed up by the race atmosphere. 

But in the process of all of this, I’ve surprised myself with how much I actually enjoy running. 

I’ve found that once you get past that period of everything hurting, your lungs gasping for air, and to where you can run a few miles consistently, you get into a certain rhythm and it just flows. And that feels amazing. 

Running is a great way to work through things. If I’m feeling anxious or upset I’ll go run. It’s a great time to brainstorm or daydream. And it’s something that you can actually see tangible improvement at. You can run further or faster. 

And it’s an inexpensive thing to do. I recommend getting a good pair of shoes, and races are fun, but day to day you don’t have to go to a class or a gym to do it. You can just go outside. 

And speaking of outside, I love that aspect of running. It gets you outside, and it’s a great speed of travel. I love running trails through the woods or along the river. [Sidenote: I can't run on a treadmill. One mile feels like ten, and I just really dislike it.]

I love being able to cover different distances. It’s such an accomplishment to run your first mile, your first three, then five, ten and when you get to the point where you realize you can run for two or four hours straight that’s super cool. 

It’s something you can do almost anywhere you go. And it’s fun to do when you travel. 

I’ve discovered I really like trail running. It’s completely different than running on a flat surface like a road, sidewalk or bike path. And it feels like an adventure, which reminds me of being a child and playing in the woods around our house. 

It was hard getting into running last summer, finding my rhythm and all that but I was surprised with how quickly it came back to me this year. I was able to run that first mile and then three miles a lot quicker this time around. 

I know there are plenty of people who think those who run are crazy (I was once one of them), but it’s honestly something that anyone can get into. You literally go at your own pace and even if that means walking at different points, it really doesn't matter. 

If you’ve been wanting to get into it don’t be shy. Give it a go! 

How I Choose Running Routes

One of my favorite parts about training is getting to go on a new route, or an old favorite. 

Everyone has their own method of getting in their mileage, but this is what has worked for me. 

I tried for about a week to use the Nike Run Club app, which is awesome, but something about hearing how far I had gone and how fast I was going made me feel like I was doing worse than I was. 

I’ve recently started not listening to anything while running, and often times even leaving my phone at home. 

So, how do I know that I’m running a certain number of miles? 

It’s all in the planning stage. 

Usually the day before a run I will sit down to decide my route for the following day. 

As I find new routes I’ll add them to my growing list (which I keep in Evernote). If I’m repeating a distance I’ve already done I will usually choose from that list, but if I don’t feel excited about any of those paths or I’m going a further distance than I have I head to good ol' Google maps. 

I start most of my runs outside my apartment, sometimes I’ll drive to a nearby park I like to run through. 

Knowing that I prefer to run on trails over sidewalks I’ll scope out one of the many awesome trails winding through and out of downtown. 

I just use the directions function of Google maps and add a destination to hit the different point of the route. I just kind of fiddle with a route until it equals the distance I need to go. 

For example, back when I was doing shorter runs I would do something like run to Grays Lake and back, which is 5 miles. Or I would do four to five mile routes through Ashworth Park. 

But now I’ve started adding and connecting different routes together for my longer runs. Which mostly just means running through multiple parks and back home.

It’s very satisfying to create a new route and find the perfect path to get your exact mileage whether that’s 3 miles or 14 miles. 

I got to do 14 miles for the first time today, and to get that distance I combined three different routes to create 14 miles.

And there’s nothing quite like finally finding the perfect route to make those big runs, stepping back and looking at them, going Woah that’s far, and then knocking them out like a champ. 

What are some of your favorite settings to run in? The greener the better for me!