Nurse on the Run

When some people say that they don’t like running, they say it’s because it seems boring.  Putting one foot in front of the other for a few minutes let alone a few hours may seem daunting to people and not very exciting.  After all, you’re doing the exact same thing over and over again.  In high school, one of my friends joined the cross country team for pre-season, which started two weeks before school actually started.  She ran with us for a week before she left to join the swim team instead.  I was always excited when my non-running friends wanted to join cross country, so I was a little disappointed when she told me, “Susan…you’re going to think this is crazy, but running from place to place is just too boring.  I know that doesn’t make sense because I’m going to be swimming laps in a pool…but it’s just how I feel.”  Or something along those lines.  I guess it’s just a matter of what gets you lost in your thoughts and doesn’t make it feel like work.  For me, that’s running.  For others, it may be swimming.  Or biking.  Or yoga.  Whatever it may be.

However, there are times when running is anything but boring.  Let’s take some classic examples that have happened to me in the past couple weeks.

• People honking. Yes, I understand that I’m not wearing a shirt (it’s summer, okay?), but whenever anyone honks at me, I’m 97% convinced that means I’m about to be hit by a car.  This drops to about 40% if you yell out the car window and about 17% if you’re on the trail on your bike screaming at me.  (Teenagers are weird.)
• Mom reading to her child while running. Whatever it takes to get kids out and running, right?  Earlier this week I ran past a mom who was reading a paperback novel to her twelve-ish year old son.  Although they weren’t running fast, at least they were out there being active!
• Running into a tree. Yesterday when I was running, I either misjudged the distance between my head and the tree branch, or I’m just that bad at limbo-ing.  Not going to lie…it was probably the second one.  And it hurt.
• Not to mention the mailbox. Yes, last week I almost lost the side of my face to a mailbox.  Take my advice and don’t stare at the gorgeous Lamborghini that drives by.  (Side note:  Young man driving said car…why are we not friends??)
• The shooting range. One of the trails I run on runs past a shooting range, which happens to be right next to signs on a giant fence that read, “Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Department of Corrections.  KEEP OUT.”  Before I knew a shooting range was right down the road, this made for some very nerve-wracking and hurried runs.
• Good conversation. Let’s face it.  Good talks are had on runs.  A good running buddy can make runs fly by.

Have you seen anything crazy on your runs lately?  I’m sure you have some good stories! I bet NYC is going to be full of good running stories…hopefully sans shooting ranges. 

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Lots of running the past few days!  I’ve been running fast despite continuously telling myself to slow down.  The fact that the temperature has dropped certainly doesn’t hurt, plus I’m not working so I’m not on my feet forty hours per week running around like a nut.  The cut back week is also quite lovely.  I ran 42 miles last week, which sounds like a lot more than it actually felt like.  “Only” 35 miles this week!  IT band feels good…knock on wood.

Wednesday, August 25
8.04 miles in 1:01:50, avg pace of 7:41

When I got back from this run, one of my roommates asked if it was raining outside…no no, I’m just that sweaty.  As a side note, running 7:20 miles at the end of a run is really fun.  I like running fast…especially when it doesn’t feel like it. 

I also went to yoga after this run since I haven’t gone in FOREVER.  I usually like this instructor for her Wednesday evening class since she normally does a very relaxing class, but it wasn’t my cup of tea this time.

Thursday, August 26
12.07 miles in 1:33:24, avg pace of 7:44

I had to go up to NYC for more pre-moving stuff (it’s lots of fun, I promise), so I take the train through Princeton since driving to NYC doesn’t sound like fun.  I still had a bunch of stuff to give back to James, so I headed to his apartment on my way back and dropped it off.  He needed to run 12 miles and that happened to be my “long” run for the week, so we ended up running together.  I haven’t run with anyone in a longgggg time, and it definitely made the 12 miles go by pretty quick!  However, before we started I said, “I’ve been doing my long run at like 7:45 pace…that needs to stop.”  Oops?  I totally take the blame for this since I was setting the pace at the end.  Is this marathon pace?  It doesn’t necessarily feel like it, but who knows.  It would be lovely if it is, I just might need someone to come drag me the last few miles.

Friday, August 27
5.03 miles in 39:17, avg pace of 7:48

My legs felt like lead after yesterday’s run, but apparently I didn’t run like my legs were made of lead.  Not going to lie…I’m enjoying sub-8 minute miles seeming “easy.”  That being said, tomorrow shall be a rest day.

I suppose it’s Friday, which doesn’t mean much to my non-working self right now, but happy weekend to the rest of you!  I can’t believe the end of summer is drawing near…