Wednesday, May 27, 2009

Mystery Solved!

On my way to meeting Patty for a run at Heritage, I noticed people just sitting in chairs at every corner of McBean. My initial thought was that these people were canvassing the area and were just waiting to be picked up. The funny thing is, Patty also noticed these people on her way to the park. As we made our way up the bike trail from Heritage to Decoro, over McBean towards Helmers, into Bridgeport and back to Heritage we came upon another man sitting in a folding chair at the corner. Curiosity got the better of us and we had to stop and ask him what he was doing. As it turns out, the city hired all these people to sit at corners and count traffic. He was a very nice man and I'm glad we stopped to chat. Maybe we should do that more often, stop and chat with people we meet along the way. Although it may ruin our already slow pace. I think we ended up running 9.3 avg miles, which isn't too bad considering the hilly route we took and considering that my legs felt like crap from the very beginning. I'm reminded of an interview I recently read of Kara Goucher, pro marathoner and Olympian. She nailed it when she basically said "running is painful". There is really no way around it. So why do we do it? I run to help me keep my weight in check while I continue to enjoy eating the things I like to eat, but most of all, I run for the camaraderie and the stress relief benefits. Why do most people run? Is it to see how far they can push their bodies? Is it to set personal bests? Why do you run?

4 comments:

Patty said...

I was thinking on the way home that we could have easily walked for 10 minutes to cool down instead of standing near our cars and talking for a half hour! I am pretty happy with the pace considering I felt dead legged and short of breath the whole time. It really was warmer today and my house was still pretty hot when I got home. I have to say that bottom line, the reason I run is to keep my weight down, but I really get so much more than that, so that is why I can stay consistent.

justme said...

i run b/c it is a challenge each time you go out for that run, whether you are running for a time, distance, or you didn't feel well that day and want to get out and see if you can.

I always feel like I accomplished something after I run.

marathon mom said...

I guess no matter how aweful I feel during a run, I am always glad I did it AFTERWARDS! Also,I think most runners have a competitive nature in all aspects of their lives, although they won't always admit it.

Patty said...

I must say that the social part of running is a big plus for me as I get older. I observed another running pair that I have always admired for their consistancy and just overall awesome running abilities. Anyway they were just walking and talking today and I thought that was great, sometimes it is just too hard, but it is nice to be able to share that time with a good friend!