The Road Less Traveled

   When you run for 12 years you develop routines, habits and get to know your body so well that there aren’t too many surprises. Unless you’re doing something crazy like running your first ultra-marathon (hey, don’t judge me), racing an Ironman or trying to survive a 24 hour adventure race there’s very little that you haven’t seen and experienced before. I guess that’s why I did my 366 Project last year and trying to go further than ever before this year.

   It’s no accident that our sport tends to attract people with OCD. We like to know what’s around the next mile, how we’re going to get there and exactly how long it’s going to take us. Our obsession with detail can help us achieve many great things. We outrun our former PR’s, take first in our age groups and run hundreds or thousands of miles every year. But it can also hinder our progress too. Sometimes it’s good to break out of the same old mold.

   I had one of those moments this week. We’ve been living at our house for almost two years. During that time I’ve run thousands of miles out of and back to my front door. But only in one direction; always to the east side. I know every crack, hill and pothole on that side of my neighborhood. But, the west side of my neighborhood was a completely different world.

   So to keep up with my new found quest to try new things I did something different for my run and went west. It’d been a very long day and I wasn’t feeling very well. I needed something other than my usual route.

   An hour and almost seven miles later I finished my run feeling ecstatic! I’d had a great run exploring a whole new part of my neighborhood. The unfamiliarity of the new route made the weariness of the day disappear and I found myself yelling at myself in my mind to slow the heck down the entire distance. It was a great experience that taught even someone as well versed in running has much to still learn.

   So, let’s take a look at some of the benefits of running routes and locations that you haven’t tried. Different scenery. I know that many of us non-professional runners de-focus on the experience when we run. We listen to our favorite music, enjoy running podcasts and focus on the scenery, wildlife and exterior world around us. It’s fairly easy to download new music and podcasts. Changing the environment isn’t as easy. But, if you try a new running route you’ll find yourself delighting in the new sights and sounds. Boredom will become a thing of the past and before you know it, you’re run will be over.

   Different elevations. Up until that west side run I’d been feeling a little stagnant with my workouts. My typical east side route is very hilly. Which is really good when I need to train on hills. But, not so good when it’s a scheduled easy run day or speed session day. On the easy days I was killing myself unnecessarily on the hills and running speed work up hills is counterproductive. I found that after running the flatter west side route that my fitness is really much higher than I thought. I felt much better during that run and was able to hit the mile paces that I wanted to without fighting any hills. Running on different elevations will help you become a more well-rounded. It will also increase flexibility in your feet and legs. Running is a repetitive movement sport and that’s why we often sustain running related injuries. Anything that you can do to vary that repetitiveness will go a long way to keeping you injury free.

   Different surfaces. I’m a creature of habit and typically prefer to run on roads versus other surface types. But, starting last year I branched out and began running on the trails near my house. After supplementing some of my normal road work with trail work I found that my feet and legs felt much better. When running on the trails they got a break from the relentless pounding they took on the asphalt and concrete.

   Well, those are some of my thoughts on my new discovery. I can’t wait to do even more exploring this season. I received my two new hydration vests this week. I’m really looking forward to trying them out my future long runs. I’ve never used vests before and I’m sure there’ll be a learning curve with them. I’m tired of using my Amphipod fuel belt. It’s really versatile and worked well for most of my marathons. But, it just can’t hold enough for my upcoming 50K.

   I hope that all of you are doing well, are healthy and do some exploring of your own. There’s so much to see out there, so many places to run, so many new sights. Why not enjoy yourself when you train?

   Ride that lightning my friends…