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May 10, 2013

My boring miles......

Jim from 50after40 made a comment the other day about never seeing a boring neighborhood run when I posted about one of my long runs on Paint Creek Trail.  Haha!  I've got plenty of boring runs!
It really occurred to me that, yes, I post about nice places I run.  Doesn't everyone run everyday somewhere exciting?  Of course, when I'm running on the weekends, I have several awesome options on trails as well as our local Metropark so the scenery is usually nice.  I'm really grateful for the Parks we have in Michigan.  However --- I don't ALWAYS have such nice runs but wish I did.

Some of you are lucky enough to have an incredible place/view to run all the time but the majority of my running is done during the week(4 out of 5 weekly runs).  In fact, most of it's in the dark much of the year so you wouldn't be able to see anything I see.  For the next few months, however, the light starts to come out when I'm running so you can see what I see so I decided to take a few pictures for you.

Here's a look at my typical run during the week which is right out my door.  I don't have time to drive up to the park or trails so I do what many of you do, I head out from home.  Take a look.  These are two days this week.  Of course, we happened to be have wonderful weather this week, but as you know, I run no matter what the weather is like that day.  Maybe I'll get some pictures next time it's pouring outside for my run.
Start at my home - just a little dark to start but not too bad today.
One great thing of starting in my neighborhood is we all have yard lights which is nice when it's dark.
I usually run about a mile in my subdivision before heading to main roads.
Great sky - of course wonderful power lines to look at too.
Cement sidewalks are my favorite - not!
Keep in mind, it's usually really busy on this road but just was not when I ran it
Of course, it was about 5:30am(it's a five lane road)
More cement sidewalks
Nice sky but more cement
Nice trees but only for about 3 weeks then nothing - and more cement
Back in my neighborhood and....more cement
I do usually run in the street though in the neighborhoods so it's asphalt at least
Here I'm walking home after finishing
Back at home again as the sun is now coming up
Of course, nobody wants to run on cement but I do think that it's really helped prepare me for races since most are on cement so I'm really used to running on it.  One reason I like to head to the trails on the weekend - to get off the cement.

So you can see, while I love sharing with you my weekend running adventures, much of what I do is really pretty boring and mostly dark.  In my almost four years of running, I can tell you every distance from every mile marker I run.  I know when my Garmin is going to go off before it goes off.  The key for me though, is consistency.  While the midweek running is not exciting, I do enjoy the fact I don't have to think about where I'm going and can concentrate on getting the miles in and hopefully with good form too.  I've got 3,4,5, and 6 mile routes but go up to 10 midweek during marathon training These midweek runs for me are just as important to my training as my long runs.

Perhaps someday when I'm retired, I'll live closer to the trails or a nice park and be ready to go on an exciting run everyday.  My running buddy, Kevin, is lucky enough to live near our Metropark so he gets to enjoy it daily.  Jealous?  Yes, I sure am!

Enjoy your run today - even if it is a boring neighborhood run. Haha!

And thanks Jim for making me keep it real.  

If you don't follow Jim, go HERE to read his blog about his training.  It's incredible and very inspirational.

Have a great day and....Keep Running!!!!

6 comments:

  1. Many of my runs are on sidewalks, but we're lucky that we have several forest preserves within easy running distance, so I can hit trails every day if I want.

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  2. OMG, I fell asleep reading this! HA

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  3. I'm lucky...my midweek runs are usually on my lunch break and I work downtown. There is a river that runs right through the city with plenty of nice multiuse paths to easily jump on...very little cement running required!

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  4. I have the same setup as you. My weekend runs are usually pretty nice, running through Hines Park down here in Plymouth. My weekday runs though the neighborhoods around here have endless variations on set distances. Anywhere from 3 to 8 miles is pretty easy to throw together. On a completely different note, what camera do you use while running, I have been wanting to get one to take on my runs.

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    1. See here. http://www.detroitrunner.com/2013/05/panasonic-lumix-ts20-initial-thoughts.html

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  5. This is how most of my week day runs are, too! Never thought to blog about it! :0)

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