…take a nap?
….eat?
…watch TV?
…go shopping?
….sleep some more?
Wrong.
A few months ago, most of my free time was spent either getting ready to run, recovering from a long run, organizing a run, talking/blogging/writing/reading about running, or, well, running. Every.single.day. A little obsessive anyone?
I’ve always thought that running kept me grounded. It was my therapy, my best friend, my happy pill. So it makes me wonder… HOW AM I STILL SANE???
(Or am I?)
Miraculously, I am still alive and well despite two months of very little or no running!
I’d like to think that I’ll go back to running eventually, and that I’m just taking a break. After all, I have taken breaks before and always found my way back to running again…
But this time, I am really relishing my time off. So, contrary to the spirit of this blog, I will break the rules by listing the...
Top 10 Reasons Why Taking a Break from Running is a GOOD THING (for me):
1) Sleep in, go out, go shopping, READ—I have time to do other things besides running!
2) My hair isn’t getting destroyed now that I don’t have to constantly wash it after sweaty runs.
3) I’ve actually LOST weight since I stopped running and am down to 109lbs. “Oh, you must have lost muscle,” you say. Maybe. But I’ve been lifting a lot too, and some may argue that my biceps never looked bigger…. Just sayin’.
4) I no longer have to ice my knees three times a day, go to physical therapy, use the horrendous foam roller, or stretch forever before I can start exercising.
5) I don’t have to live with the fear that I’ll get injured on any given run and my race dreams will be crushed.
6) No more blisters!
7) No need to do laundry constantly.
8) I’m saving tons of money: on race entry fees ($100+), new running shoes every 2-3 months ($126), gels, running clothes, race travel expenses—not to mention all the money spent on food since I was hungry all.the.time.
9) No more forcing myself “just put in the miles” when I am exhausted and the last thing I want to do is run.
10) I can focus on working upper body and can actually see actual muscles starting to creep out! No joke, people.
Now, most of the running I do consists of 2 minutes on the treadmill to warm up before a workout. And I’m HAPPY when those 2 minutes are over. I don’t try to keep going longer. I don’t tell myself, “Meh, I’ll do another 58 minutes.” Instead, I speed up for exactly two minutes, jump right off and move on to my next exercise.
I’ve started a new workout routine with Jeff where we focus on weight training/lifting and keep things interesting by piling on “super sets” and “circuits.” The ultimate goal? To be so sore the next day, you can barely move.
This is usually a very attainable goal.
