Running

I Went Running 

When CoolMom and I lived in Seattle, she spent one summer working in DC at the World Bank while I stayed home, played Wiffle Ball, and didn’t work on my dissertation.  I also ran quite a bit.  I’d run from our apartment up a hill to Volunteer Park where I’d do a few loops and then come back, or I’d run along this nice, paved jogging path near the university.  Dropped quite a bit of weight that summer.

I stopped running with any degree of regularity for several years after that, and then picked it up again right after the birth of CoolDaughter #1.  It was kind of my excuse for getting out of the house, since CoolMom never argued when I said I was doing something for my health.

Just this week, a friend of mine called my attention, via Facebook, to this article on whether or not music helps you run faster.  A short string of comments followed in which people discussed not so much the speed benefits of music while running, but whether they ran with music at all.  I waffled a bit, saying I didn’t need it outdoors, but that it was required on the treadmill.  I’m revising that here.  I run with music about 99% of the time.

I’ve never gotten to the point where running is a joy for me.  I don’t get any kind of a runner’s high.  I pretty much follow the same two or three routes, so the scenery is old hat for me now.  It takes me a good hour between telling myself I’m going for a run and actually getting up and going.  Today, for example, I got dressed for a run, and then ate lunch.

What running is for me, though, is a chance to listen to music for a solid thirty minutes to an hour without the phone ringing or emails beeping at me or someone yelling at me to turn it down.  I almost always listen to an album while I run, and choosing just the right one can take a while.  During my lunch today, I scrolled through the albums on my iPhone for a good ten minutes before coming up with just the right thing.  After a not-that-enjoyable work week, it was a decision among Fucked Up, Screaming Females, and The Men.  The Men won this round, and they did help knock out the cobwebs.  I'm sure they also sped me along at points.

That's all a long-winded way of saying that I had a bit of writer's block today, so I went for a run, listened to Open Your Heart; and it felt good.

Here's "Candy" from Open Your Heart.

And, since it's Friday Night,

Rock on...