Today’s run: 4.6 miles, 50 minutes. YT: 101.4 (aka 10% of yearly mileage!). After yesterday’s unpleasantness I felt the need to push myself today. Mission accomplished. I ran past stainless steel pot man on the sidewalk. The exchange made him anxious and involved more eye contact than I think either of us was prepared for. Still, I said good morning, and he gave me a weak “Haaa” back. I think we are becoming friends. I really want to get on the bus with him one day and find out where he works.
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East River Park, NY - where I'll soon be running again. Fresh air? Unsure. But definitely cold air.
Now, where to run? Of course, this is subjective, but run where:
- There’s lots of fresh air
- There’s not a lot of stoplights and traffic
- There’s lots of cute dogs
- There’s lots of cute guys (or, OK, girls)
- There’s lots of other runners or people playing sports
- There are lots of things that smell good
- There’s water to look at and water to drink
For the longer version of “where to run,” click more. Or just tell me where you like to run in the comments!
One thing that I love about running is that it helps to make exercise the path of least resistance. You don’t have to drive to a gym or pull together a team. You just put on your sneakers (and hopefully some clothes) and GO.
So what I recommend is that, if it’s at all possible, you run right outside your front door. But I also recommend sunlight, fresh air, and passing scenery. Personally I prefer a route that is part traveling, and part loops. Having a park that you loop around helps me get my stride; something about the repetition keeps me going. At the same time, I think I’d get bored if I didn’t also have a few miles of open road.
If your neighborhood isn’t good for running, second best is to drive or bike to somewhere that’s better.
Third best is the dreaded gym. I don’t recommend the gym, except perhaps for occasional timed runs or carefully controlled hill climbs. But if you have to run in a gym, make the best of it. Buy a membership at the most expensive sweat box you can afford. Get yourself a cute outfit, make friends with the guy at the desk, and pick a time when you’re not going to have to wait for a machine. Allay yourself of the steam room and any other awesome extras. On the treadmill, cover the display so you’re not constantly ticking off minutes. You want to let your brain run wild (time flies), not be anchored to those numbers (time creeps).
Lies!!!! I did exactly what you told me to do — bought a cute pair of short-shorts and a sports bra, chatted up the front desk guy, and hit the steam room hard…. and all it got me was a 4-month suspended sentence for indecent exposure and misdemeanor sexual harrassment…. Plus, there’s a court order prohibiting me from wearing my kicky cute outfit. The police told me that several of the staff are in intensive therapy now because of “things that can’t be unseen” . So you’re just full of lies!!! ALL LIES!!!!
Dave, I think i need to let you guest blog here. :-)
I’m lucky enough to live in an area that offers lots of options. All while I was doing my C25K I ran the same route – straight down the main street in town, and straight back. The shock of actually finishing that made me realized that I had a lot of different options and since then, I’ve been exploring and mapping out loops so I’m always looking at something new. Doing longer runs also aids in being able to discover new paths.
However, if I’m tired, or it’s cold, or I’m not really that into it and just want to get the run over with, I always fall back on the main street straight out and back path. Boring as it’s become, there’s some kind of comfort in it.
I’m like Keith. I like big loops, both in my daily running and races. I generally avoid laps. I can’t handle the mental strain of running by my house for another 2-mile lap, when I’ve already been out for 1:50.
It’s a different story when running with friends though. Because there’s a date involved, I don’t mind driving up to 45min. to get there, packing a change of clothes, food, etc. We always choose scenic places to run over convenience. If necessary, we park the cars so they serve as re-fueling stations, but nobody quits early.
Elodie, totally agree – i can’t do any lap that would bring me close to my house. I’d end up running straight through my front door. and not coming back out. :-)
Kieth, i feel the same way about my old standard run. so comforting, like i don’t even have to acknowledge the fact that i’m running.
Caught you red-handed, you sandbagger! :) Sara, you already forgot the time you came back into your house to make a phone call (for jury duty) and then continued your run!
Tsk, tsk. Underestimating yourself again. ;)
Oh i haven’t forgotten – i was extremely proud of myself that day. it was a first!! :-)
My favorite: a trail in the woods!
Two or three laps on routine familiar road routes are OK for short weekday base mileage runs, but I like big loops or long out-and-backs for long runs.
I have a couple of nice trails very close to my house. But both only go about a mile before I run out of trail. Still, once it starts getting light enough to see in the morning, I’ll probably do part of my runs on them sometimes.