Like what you do

1

September 17, 2013 by Amy B

I didn’t have very high expectations for yesterday’s run. I was pretty sure I’d come down with a cold or some sort of allergy bullshit attack. However, since I wasn’t hacking up a lung or barfing my guts out, I decided to go for it. Also: it was gorgeous out during the afternoon hours.

No morning run? Yeah, when I woke up at 4:15 and saw that it was 35°F, I figured it would be better to get some rest in my ailing state. I’m glad I did.

For the most part, this was a really enjoyable run. I wasn’t out to kill the pace and I was running a route I haven’t run in years since moving north of Houghton. I even got out on a small trail loop, which I followed until it ended, then turned around and headed back to my car.

My only beef is that even though I wasn’t pushing it too hard, I felt like my pace should’ve been faster for the effort. Maybe it was a combination of summer/fall cold and tired legs. I did put in a 20 miler two days ago, after all.

This morning I DID manage to get out on the road at 5:00AM. It helped that I woke up at 4:15AM for no particular reason. Oh yeah, to run.

Weather was about 39F, which in my little pea-sized brain seemed like Ice Age temperatures. I think I need to keep a journal of what I wear when I run for certain temperatures, because it’s like I get runner’s amnesia when faced with weather that hasn’t been typical for at least three months.

Anyway, I overdressed. A lot. I could’ve left the jacket and stocking hat at home.

Yeah, not exactly the run I’ll tell my grandchildren about, but it was a very quiet clear night/morning. Peaceful, even. I saw a shooting star on my way back to the house, which was pretty cool.

Like I’ve said before, I’m not much of a music runner but sometimes I do sing songs in my head while I’m running. Other times I think about work crap, but I do try to minimize that. This morning I thought of my kids, then started to think about the ways I feel like I’ve let them down lately (yeah, really happy thoughts right there), and started to get pretty bummed out so I switched gears and thought of why I like to run.

Interestingly, I don’t think about this too often, but this morning I realized that yes, I am one of those people who actually LIKE to run. Some people run for the exercise, calorie burn, physical challenge, or because they have to. When I was an athlete in school, I ran because the coach made me; it was part of my sport, but not solely my sport. As I got older, I turned to running for exercise specifically for weight loss.

Now I run because I like to do it. And I realize that sounds really simple, but I think about some of the people I know who run who are constantly making up excuses or just don’t put in the time. And while a variety of factors, including family commitments, work, health, etc. are often in play, I wonder how many of those people actually enjoy the activity.

NOTE: his isn’t a judgment or anything. I really don’t care if anyone likes to run.

Since I’m a list maker, I made a list of things in my life that I like, but apparently like less than running.

• Sleeping in late
• Going out drinking on Friday night (because I’m probably going out running long on Saturday morning)
• Having nice looking toes
• Skinny calves that fit into knee-high boots (hell, they never fit in before I became a runner)
• Not having a farmer’s/runner’s tan
• Not dedicating every free moment to marathon training or prepping for marathon training

Funny, this list was better in my head as I was running this morning.

The point is, when it comes down to it, I end up choosing to run over a lot of delightful activities, and 99% of the time, it’s unbegrudgingly (sorry, I think I just made up this word). And no, I don’t feel like this all the time. There are days I want to punch running in the balls, but generally?

I run because I like it.