Watch Where You Are Running!

I don’t care what anyone says – walking and running are simply two best ways to stay in shape all year long.  Barring any excuses, you can walk or run just about any time of the year and in just about any climate on the planet; some insane individuals (including yours truly) find themselves running through winter storms and pouring rains, while other brave souls, believe it or not, find enough courage and testosterone to cross the blazing desert!  Or so I am told.   That, by the way, makes me cringe just thinking about it…

But in all these scenarios, one question always remains – which route to take?  Before we set out on our running / walking adventures, we always plan our route, picture it in our minds, thinking of all the possible alternatives and other possibilities along the way.

Believe it or not, but for a relatively active runner that I claim to be, I live in an area somewhat unsuitable for running.  It is solid concrete and pavement  all around, with the streets going up and down, which violatesthe basic principles of 5 AM Running (we run on flat, even surfaces EXCLUSIVELY!).  Though there is a rather large field behind our house, it is normally filled with rabbits, foxes, gardeners, tomato-pickers, and any other possible life forms you can imagine, not to mention a thick layer of extremely tall grass that, in my opinion, is worse than any snow when trying to run through it.  So I don’t even attempt to look in that direction…

And so I have no choice but to hit the road, quite literally, running right on the semi-highway outside our development.  It is also 100% asphalt and concrete, but at least the road is somewhat even and predictable, for miles and miles on.  I look back at the days when I first started learning to run, and I recall being able to practice on a football field, running around the edges on a soft, comfortable surface, feeling the resistance of the short, cut grass.  If it weren’t for that, I probably would not have fallen in love with running as I have…

But at the very least, I get to enjoy the scenic route and a constant flow of some sort of extracurricular events, such as dog attacks, cars, rain puddles, insane characters and other wonderful entertainment choices along the way.  That, coupled with great music, is usually enough to compensate for the lack of good running ground.  I hardly ever remember my dreams – and when I do, I instantly report them here – but I imagine that when my dreams run wild, I am probably dreaming of a nice stadium in the back of my home, always available and open to me, only to me and no one else, with professionally-covered running tracks of soft surface…. Can’t stop a man from dreaming, I suppose…