I know a lot of people who would clarify that title and say that the running part is the crazy thing. So I ask that you agree with the premise that the running part is normal, but that the running part can sometimes take you into weirdness.
If you've gotten into the habit of running and signing up for races, you're probably already doing crazy things like going running in the snow, when it's -20 degrees, with 30 mph wind gusts. That stuff comes with the territory because you don't really get to take a lot of off days if you're trying to be consistent. You also do not get to pick what the race day forecast will be so it's helpful to be prepared and practiced for just about anything. The crazy things I'm taking about are things like the Beer Mile, or Running the Grand Canyon (rim to rim to rim), or running to your friends' bonfire instead of driving. The last of which I decided to do the other week.
As I've been progressing on my training I have been excited about the fact that I'm far enough in my training to have already run a marathon. I'm typically still building up to that distance by this time of the running season so I'm pumped that I've already crossed over that bridge (mountain?) already. Meaning I am already able to stretch my runs a bit longer during the week than I'm normally accustomed to. It is also great to have much more sunlight after work to run in. I've been able to put in some good 8ish mile runs during the week which is letting me ramp up my weekly mileages. A couple Thursday's ago my friend decided to have a bonfire at their house and I got this crazy idea that I would run there.
It's really not that crazy of an idea. It's actually really really smart. Jeremiah was going to be heading over early from his post work run so he was already going to be there and it's silly to have two cars there. I could run over, there would be food and beer waiting for me, and I could ride back home with Jeremiah. Perfect. I made the plan, double checked the mileage and gave my eta. Right now I can see you nodding your head in agreement that this plan was logical. All I had to do was run to my friend's house in Golden, 14 miles away. That is the sort of crazy part. Who runs to their friends' house 14 miles away, after work? I guess I do?
It only seems crazy if you haven't given much thought to using your feet as modes of transportation. I've always opted to walk over driving if at all possible. It's amazing how much ground you can cover, and you can cover even more if you are running. It can also be a tool to break up your training routine if you feel like you've gotten in to a rut. When Jeremiah and I trained for our first marathon we lived in Breckenridge. With the snow cover it made sense to do a lot of runs on the cleared walking/hiking paths through town. There was a path that went to Frisco (it actually goes all the way to Vail) which is about 9 miles away. One night we ran to Frisco and got dinner then took the bus back. We did our first "urban hiking" trip in Duluth, walking from my parents house to the Lakeshore and back (stopping a long the way for snacks and to dip our feet in the lake). Sure it takes longer, but you don't have to worry about parking and you see a lot of stuff you tend to miss in your car.
Running can really open up your world and all the money you save on gas can go to new running shoes and race entries.
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