Being here in Nebraska has made me realize something I often forget in Alaska: I hate running on roads.
I mean I hate it.
The roads here in town are picture-perfect, with a canopy of trees hanging over the streets and old-fashioned houses with sloped yards.
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| Pretty, no? |
I know that the streets are pretty. I appreciate that they're pretty. Heck I even think as I'm running: Wow, this is pretty. But I still hate running on them. I hate having to move over for cars. I hate worrying about having to move over for cars. I hate not being able to get into The Zone and stay there.
I truly think that if I had to run roads day after day, I would stop running. I would swim instead, and I'm not even that great of a swimmer.
Trail running has spoiled me. Or maybe Alaska has spoiled me, because I didn't mind running on roads as much in Seward.
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| A road in Seward, not sure which one. Third Ave.? Second Ave.? |
Sometimes I worry that I'm not a "real" runner. I'm not sure what a real runner is, exactly, but I'm sure it's someone more committed and dedicated than I am, someone who would be happy to run on any surface, regardless of traffic or scenery.
Sadly, I'm not "that" type of runner. I hate running roads. I don't care much for racing. I don't even notice how fast I'm running most of the time.
I just like to run. I like splashing through mud and smelling the ground and hearing the wind and feeling my legs strain and jump and leap over rocks and fallen trees.
But, damn it, I'm a runner so I'm putting on my shoes and readying myself to run eight to 10 miles over cobblestone, picture-perfect streets in my muddy (Alaska mud!) adidas trail shoes.
Happy Thursday! Hope everyone else is in a more optimistic frame of mind.
Hope the run went okay. I actually like running on roads. Traffic isn't bad where I live - at all - and I don't mind it. I also like running on bike paths but I seem to trip and fall on trails.
ReplyDeleteI think that it is always an adjustment when you go to a new place. Just keep an open mind. Maybe you'll surprise yourself :)
ReplyDeleteOh thanks for writing this because I really don't like running very much anymore and its because of roads. The trails here can be run but they are steep and rocky and only open for a few months. I hate road running something fierce.
ReplyDeleteThanks, everyone. I did run and I did end up enjoying it, after sulking my way through an embarrassingly slow and lumbering first half mile, though to the dude in the red pickup: Please slow down and move over when you see a runner, 'kay?
ReplyDeleteAnd I totally get you, Mary. Running trails is a whole different animals than roads. You'll have to come to Anchorage and run with me. We'll stay off the roads; we'll ignore them completely. We'll pretend they don't even exist, hee, hee.
I like running on back roads which is good because we have a lot of them here in VT. I don't like running the lots of traffic tho..
ReplyDeleteMany thanks, every person. Used to do operate and that i do wind up taking pleasure in this, following sulking my own method with an embarrassingly sluggish as well as heavy very first 880 yards, although for the guy in debt pick-up: You should decelerate and also make room if you notice an athlete, 'kay?
ReplyDeleteregards,
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