A Good Run

It's good to vary between walking, cycling and running. I even threw in skateboarding but I am not confident at that sport yet. The beauty of walking, cycling and running is that these are sports that you can do straight from home, without getting into a car, and without having to put up with other drivers. The one drawback is that dangerous drivers endanger you on every outing, but that's another topic.

Comfortable

Although I was worried that I would regret running with barefoot shoes, after wearing them for over six hundred kilometres I can say that they were the right choice. The reason for which they were the right choice is that now, rather than run two kilometres before my knees hurt I can run for five kilometres and reach the goal I wanted to achieve. I wanted to be able to run five kilometres comfortably, and I can.

No Extra baggage

For this run I took no backpack, no lumbar bag or any other form of bag. I had my phone, some cars in case, and my house keys. I don't usually run so light. I didn't expect rain. I didn't expect to feel thirsty, and I didn't expect to need the external battery pack, to recharge the phone. I didn't even take earphones.

The Route

Originally I was thinking of running the usual route, to avoid being near homicidal car drivers but I noticed that there was a village party, which I didn't want to run through. I changed my routing and it had me run up a steep road for several hundred meters before turning left and heading down towards the lake, and then turning right along the motorway. That's not really the point. The point is that I routed it perfectly, so that I stopped running just as I got to a busy road where I sometimes have to wait for cars to pass.

Quiet

It was quiet on this run. I saw one or two walkers and one runner. In a different age, and time, I might have said hello, but in this day and age it is better not to. She was doing interval running, but when she had a rest interval she took the rest part more seriously than I do. When I'm told to rest I walk at full speed. That is my rest pace.

It was busy with dogs and walkers on another route but I always avoid routes where I expect to meet dog walkers. I don't want dogs to jump on me, and force me to overcome my desire to run away.

And Finally

Running allows you to experience the same route as you would walk, in half the time. It's a way of enjoying the outdoors, without devoting the same amount of time. I would not replace walking with running, because I like taking the time to walk that route. By walking you can read a lot of audio books, but you also take a break from sitting and being indoors.

By running I am forced to look at where I'm going, as well as to think of how my feet are hitting the ground. I consider the route. Today I surprised a heron that hid behind some trees. It saw me and flew away.