When asked, “who are you?” I often reply, “I’m a runner”. Just like when people describe themselves as what they look like and what they do for work, for me running is very much a distinct part of ‘me’. I run nearly everyday (yep even Christmas Day). As a fellow runner here are my top 8 reasons why I love to run!
1. It feels calming and exhilarating at the same time
There is no easier way to put it, running makes me feel good. Physically I feel like I ‘run out’ all the stress and worry of the last few days at work. I feel as though bitchiness from work fades away when I am out pounding the pavement. If I ever have an argument or fight with one of my friends, after a run it never seems as bad and that we can work it out. If I am feeling lethargic or have a bit of a headache I always seem to find that a couple of glasses of water followed by a good run is the best cure. I couldn’t imagine wasting a couple of days doing nothing because I felt ‘tired’.
2. I always finish a run in a better mood than when I started
Whether I am feeling uninspired to start with or start my run already feeling pretty good, I never fail to come back from my run feeling even better. Running for me is like the perfect natural drug – if I am upset or stressed it helps relax me. If am feeling good then it helps me feel even better! It’s like the perfect drug, all the benefits without the nasty side effects! If non-runners only realized it’s not some elusive magic pill they need to take but just a pair of runners and some comfortable clothes…
3. I often see some crazy things out on my runs
I run at all different times of the day, sometimes it’s first thing at 6am other times its last thing at 10pm and then on other days I’ll sometimes through in a midday run. Yet no matter what time, I often see some interesting, crazy things. Whether its people doing the housework naked (don’t ask why, I don’t get it either), or other runners out in jeans and a jumper (yep seen that more than once before), running never fails to show you lots of things that make you go huh??
4. I get to see lots of new and interesting places
Just a few days ago I ran with a friend in her neighborhood and we took a path that she did not even know existed yet she had lived and ran in the area for over 10 years. We managed to discover a great running track through the park area that she had never experienced. It was a great run, one that we both enjoyed and we got to discover new and enjoyable trails.
It’s a convenient way to explore the local areas when I am holidays, and people are always so friendly in the morning when you out running. I love getting up on holidays on the nice summer mornings and running in whichever direction live takes me on that day. I always find my way back and in the run find and explore new places I never even knew existed.
5. I can explore how I’m feeling without people judging me
Sometimes I use my run as my own personal psychology. I use the time the explore how I am feeling about a particular situation and give myself permission to follow different lines of ‘what ifs’ and different scenarios all while I feel safe that no one will know what I thought. I find this really beneficial when I sometimes get a little irrational in my thinking. During my run I give myself permission to think as crazy as I like. For me it helps ‘get it all out’ so to speak and usually once my run is over I feel much more calm and balanced and my thinking is not so neurotic!
6. It helps me to keep my butt in check!
I love to run…. and I love to eat! And I like to eats lots of food, glorious food. For me eating is a really pleasurable thing to do but I don’t like being overweight. This is one of the reasons that I definitely love running. I can eat more food and getaway with the odd indulgence and not pile on the weight because running helps keep me in good shape and burning the excess calories I sometime binge on. Over the holidays I find if I just throw in an extra run or add on another 15mins here and there I can pretty much avoid putting on the ‘festive pounds’
7. Less chance of dying from a heart attack or cancer
I don’t want to die anytime soon and I don’t want to spend the last 10 years of my live as a dottery old lady. I want to live for a long time and do it in style, enjoying my retirement years being active and playing with my future grand kids. I don’t want to be in a nursing home wearing a nappy and thinking that the walk from the bed to the kitchen is exercising.
We are always hearing how the biggest killers we face are heart disease and cancer. Well I fully intend to have a strong healthy heart as long as I have anything to do with it! As long as I am in control of my life, I will keep building and using my heart and lungs to stay fit and healthy. My life is so busy; I don’t have time to have a heart attack or a stroke. I’ll take healthy and fit over fat and unhealthy thank you very much!
I remember reading about how cancer is less common in people who exercise regularly, with more and more people getting cancer it seems to me that this alone is a good enough reason to exercise. As the world seems to be getting fatter and fatter and more and more diseased and unhealthy, I think there are some of us out there who are determined not to be one of those people, hopefully our examples of health and fitness (and less heart attacks, strokes and cancer) will be a shining example to the rest of the population.
8. Forge amazing memories with my friends
Just a few weeks ago 3 of my friends and I completed our first marathon. We loved it, it was such a enjoyable experience, not only did we all cross the line but we had a great holiday out of it. It was cold and wet where we lived but the marathon was in a nice warm, sunny climate. So we ended up having the whole week in the warmth and sunshine. Two of my friends never in a million years thought they would be able to run a marathon so that was pretty cool that we all shared the experience of training for it and then on the day doing it together. For me that was an experience with 3 of my best friends that I’ll remember forever.
So there you have it, my most motivating reasons reasons for why I run. I hope you enjoyed them and it got you thinking about why you love to run, or if you don’t – hopefully it inspired you to get out there and start running yourself. If you enjoyed my reasons, please come visit my site and post a comment about your reasons for running at Womens Asics Gel I’d love to hear from you!
Create a great day,
Bree
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