First, a quick update on training for Ragnar…I completed a 4 mile run yesterday. I was huffing and puffing but my leg/foot felt good.
I still have 3 weeks to get some endurance back.
My office closed early today for the holiday weekend. I figured i’d hop on a subway downtown and see where I ended up. It was one of those adventurous moments where I figured I’d let the universe guide me on how to spend my surprise free time. I jumped on the D train at 34th street. The next stop was West 4th street. Score! I was just a few blocks away from my old stomping ground….SoHo. It was a gorgeous Summer afternoon and I was giddy to just peek around. I stumbled upon the Burton store first. Burton makes mostly snowboard stuff but they had a huge wall of awesome backpacks. I finally decided on getting this turquoise one with a cute floral pattern not for any specific feature….just that the pattern was SO me! I’m planning on using it for my carry on when I travel to Cali in a few weeks. I’ve got to keep in mind that my “luggage” needs to do double duty for Ragnar Napa.
The next store I popped into was the big REI flagship store. I got this cute collapsible pack that squishes down and folds over onto itself to form a compact little pouch. You can read its full description here. At $30 it’s a great deal and I’m super excited about it. I’ll be using for a fuel bag for my relay. It should hold some trail mix, pb&j sandwiches and water bottles perfectly.
This is what it looks like when opened up.
and it squishes and folds over itself to fit in this nice little pouch for easy transport
I’m still on the lookout for a roller duffel bag. I’ll probably end up getting this one from LL Bean.
I’m really getting excited for the relay trip…I miss my running peeps!
OK, so I started to write this post months ago but only finished it today…
Sometimes I really want to be a “recreational runner”….the kind of runner who just gets up every day to run a few miles for general health and wellness…my life would be a bit more predictable and my weekends would be a lot more flexible…but the problem is (well it’s not a problem it’s a choice really) I LOVE running in road races…5ks, 10ks, half marathons, marathons, relays… I have never been as committed to something as I am to running and I don’t know that I’d be that way if I was a recreational runner. It’s the entire process…from creating the training schedule to following through with all the training runs (including all the group runs) to completing each training cycle with the race itself that drives me. And having been injured for the better part of 4 months with limited running I have REALLY missed that.
I sacrifice a lot to lead a lifestyle that includes so many road races but the rewards are tenfold. So next time I feel like I want to be a “recreational runner” I’ll remind myself of this post and of my choice and what drives me.
What’s funny is I sometimes rant about being so busy and not having any downtime. Then I get a weekend with no running events and I’m BORED!
So how about you? Do you consider yourself a recreational runner, a runner with a serious race agenda, or just somewhere in the middle? Do you ever wish for life to slow down only to then feel bored and want your frenzied weekends to return?
I’m probably going to take a little time away from the blog to enjoy my long weekend and just live in the moment. Have a great one and I’ll catch up with y’all next week.
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