Tomorrow, June 5, is National Running Day. The day is marked by a series of national events that celebrate running.
Whether you are a veteran runner solidifying your commitment, or a beginning runner looking to get started, National Running Day is a day for you to get out there and run for a few minutes, miles, or kilometers.
I miss it. From waking up at 4 a.m. on race day to the rush of adrenaline that you experience when the green flag drops; lord do I miss it.
I miss asking my wife for song suggestions for a pulse-thumping playlist two days before the race. I miss the butterflies and anxiety that you experience while lying in bed the night prior to the gun going off. And yes, I even miss the tightness in my left thigh that caught me off guard at the nine-mile mark. This past Saturday marked my half-marathon debut, and I miss every knee-jarring, sweat-producing, calf-burning, runners-high-producing second of it.
The 5k as a race is not really a new concept. The 5k has been around for ages. It’s just a unit of measurement. A span of about 3.1 miles going from point A to point B. The beauty of #Anywhere5K is that it celebrates running at its very core.
The whole reason we all enjoy the sport isn’t because of the desire to finish on the podium or to add another race number to the pile.
We enjoy running because of the experiences it brings us.
I get it. Treadmills are not seen as the allies of dedicated runners. We can be downright hostile to their monotony, even at Anywhere5K. But hold off on your ridicule for a second and think about what really matters — getting your feet moving. An outright rejection of the treadmill restricts the times and dates when running is feasible. Keep it in your back pocket as an alternative, and there’s no day (no matter how cold) and no time (no matter how dark) when running isn’t an option using simple gear.
A few years back I was working a job with irregular hours. I had no money for proper gear to run at night or in the cold. The result: I stopped running on a regular basis, gained 25 pounds, and decided to make friends with the treadmill. Now my weight is back under control and my work hours saner, but the treadmill remains to ensure I never fall off the wagon. Yes, the monotony of running in place can be brutal. But I’ve picked up a few tips along the way. Allow me to share.
The headphone debate is nothing new. Those opposed to using headphones think you need to be aware of your surroundings, those for the use of headphones think there’s a middle ground between safety and music as a positive influence.
When I first started running I didn’t wear headphones. Instead, I listened to my lungs breathe and my feet hit the ground. Months later, as I became more comfortable with my body, I donned the headphones with one rule: I must always be able to hear my body and my surroundings.