Boy do I hate running. And also, exercise. I really do not enjoy getting all hot, sweaty and worn out. If I wanted to do that, I would scrub my tub more often. Even so, this will be my third straight year running the Monument Avenue 10k, and I bet out of the 39,000 participants this year I am likely have the highest actually-running to complaining-about-running ratio.
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| 10k '09. Don't be fooled - I'm miserable. |
Sunday was absolutely gorgeous, so I forced myself to run 4 miles. The only way for me to get through it is to A) Hope that people think I am on mile 19 when I am truly only 5 blocks from my house and B) Try to distract myself. Usually my thought process while running goes a little something like this. “Man, I am going to be able to eat anything I want all week since I slowly jogged 3 miles today. Ooh! I should make a sandwich when I get back. I need to remember to put pickles on it.” Not a very good distraction for an athlete.
Some people are motivated by upbeat music while they are running. I usually resent the music’s pace for taunting my slow crawl. But what if I could distract myself by listening to a good book? Part of me thinks that sounds slightly insane. I often wonder what everyone is listening to as they race past me, but I highly doubt any of them are listening to a British man describe Ken Follett’s tales of drama and intrigue in 85 different voices. Of course, if they are crazy enough to think I am on mile 19, it’s probably not much of a leap to think that I am listening to some very cool underground indie techno beats.
Maybe I will try this books and running scheme. Or better yet, just the book part.
One of my friends is both an avid runner and avid reader. She always downloads books to her iPod so she can listen while she runs; she swears it makes the time go by so quickly you hardly know how far you've gone. I'm pretty sure I would know--for one thing, I'd still be able to recognize the houses around me by the time I ran out of breath!
ReplyDeleteFunny post. Let us know how it goes. Maybe you will keep running a little longer to find out what happens next.
ReplyDeleteHey Allison, I run while reading too! It is the only way I can get through my long A$$ runs without pulling my hair out. Try One for the Money by Janet Evanovich. It won't make you any smarter, nor will you have much to say about it, BUT it will be engrossing enough to periodically make you forget your are running. Also, it is suspenseful and the occasional adrenaline rush can make the run easier.
ReplyDeleteKitsy
I guess I will have to give this a try and report back... (and hi Kitsy!)
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