Musings from the Track

I definitely think it's a God thing that each time I set out for a run, I get excited and think, "Only two times around the lake ... no problem!" And despite that mindset, it's always hard, yet each time I go to do it, in my head I think of how it's no big deal at all. It helps me get there, and finish my workouts. Yesterday was a great day for running - cool and windy and overcast but no humidity. It was great, and a tangible difference from last week's runs where I thought I was going to have heat stroke.

I don't know about you, but when I work out, my mind wanders. There's the obligatory thoughts related to pain and telling myself to push through, but there's other things that wander through my head too. I thought I'd share since I know you're all dying to hear about it. :)

I watch too many crime shows (and love them!) like CSI and Criminal Minds. And since I run around a lake, it's only natural that I find myself scanning the shoreline for dead bodies, since that's a recurring scene in crime shows, and it's always someone out running that finds a body. So then I wonder what I would do in that situation ... call the police, obviously, but then do you have to wait around near the dead body until the police get there? How creepy and gross! I hope it never happens, but I still always look.

On a happier note, there are so many CUTE dogs everywhere! I love it! The best is there is inevitably one small dog, walking with its owner in the opposite direction. When I run by going the other way, the small dog does an immediate about face to run with me (or after me, depending on how you look at it). Then of course that pesky leash stops them short and they get distracted by the ducks and probably another runner. It's adorable.

I also have to say how much I appreciate the people in their cars who are nice enough to stop for us running. The path only crosses the opening to the parking lot, so it's not too much of a problem, but every once in a while you get people who won't stop, so you either have to run in place (which I hate!) or stop completely while you wait for them to go by, always slowly. So I love the people who are nice and stop, and let me keep running.

And finally, the stopwatch on the ipod needs to be reworked. Granted, my ipod is one of the first generations, so maybe newer ones are better. I time each of my miles, but it takes so many clicks to get from my playlist to the stopwatch, so I'm basically running for 10-15 seconds with my head down trying to get through all the menus back to the stopwatch. It's super annoying. Plus, when I get to the stopwatch, I have to press 'Lap' then "pause" then "resume" to get it to time my lap (mile) and then it doesn't keep going until I hit pause, then resume. Anyway, some day I will find a better solution.

So what do you think of when you work out? Do you think about dead bodies too? Look at the puppies playing? I'm curious to know. :) Write some comments!