Why I Run

Wow, it is HOT today. And I went for an easy 3 mile run today at lunch time. Am I nuts? I think so. I didn’t really feel the heat until the last mile or so, so it wasn’t too bad. Caitlin wrote a really good post about running in hot weather that I found really helpful! Check it out. I’m a huge fan of her blog, it’s really inspiring!

So, am I really crazy for running in hot weather? I don’t think so. I actually don’t mind being hot, because I’m cold a lot. I work in a cold office all day, so being warm doesn’t bother me too much.

Anyway, after someone found out I ran two races this past weekend, they asked me, “So, are you addicted to running now?” I think the answer is yes and no. I first started running to lose weight, and now that I’m at my “happy weight”, I need to run because I can’t imagine not running. I’m addicted to the high I feel after a race. I’m enjoy running the same way some people enjoy taking fitness classes or playing sports, it’s just what I do. But I think it’s kind of looked at by non-runners as something crazy. How can you run six miles, that’s crazy! But what is so crazy about it? It’s what I do to exercise and stay healthy. And I want to keep challenging myself and pushing myself to the next level. I’ve been reading bits and pieces of the Runner’s World Complete Book of Women’s Running by Dagny Scott Barrios and I came across a paragraph that pretty much describes my feelings toward running perfectly.

From the chapter “From Jogging to Running: Training for the Intermediate Runner”:

Once a woman becomes a runner, she finds that the sport is woven into the fabric of her life. Whereas running might have been only a vehicle before – to fitness or to weight loss, for example – it now becomes that rarest of things: a means and an end. To a runner, running is still a means of strength and health, of exploration and socialization.  But unlike the jogger, who might take up the sport primarily out of a sense of duty or for the extrinsic benefits, such as weight loss, the runner finds that the very act itself is enough. Running is the thing she craves. Within it is a new sense of wonder at the power of movement – whether labored or light – over ground, the rise and fall of breath in her chest. When a woman knows this feeling, she knows that she cannot do without running. And thus is born a runner.

So well said! Today’s 3 mile run was part of my new training plan for an upcoming 15K I want to run in, the Utica Boilermaker! I’m still not sure if I want to go all the way to Utica, but I heard this race is fun, and it ends at a brewery, so what could be better than that? 🙂 I have eight weeks to get to 9.3 miles. I’m going to write up my training plan soon.
Now onto today’s eats.

This morning for breakfast I had some sweet cherry oats and half of a high fiber muffin.

This was my morning snack. I absolutely LOVE sweet cherries! I should have put them in my oats!

And after my run my lunch consisted of another turkey burger with arugula and goat cheese on a sandwich thin.

Dinner was homemade pizza! I used regular pre-made pizza dough, ricotta, shredded cheese, broccoli, spinach and artichokes. Yum! I had three pieces of this deliciousness.

Now I’m munching on some frozen mangoes and papayas.

Oh! My mom found this under our shed today. He needs a home! I bet you can’t resist this face.