Why Do I Run?

Just back from an 8+ mile cruise tempo run this morning - with Speedway. This is a picture of how Speedway looks after a good run.

Anyway, I was thinking today....why do I like to run? Some quick thoughts...

1. General fitness and weight loss. When I started running (and got off of the couch of doom), I weighed 304 pounds. This was January of 2007. Since then I have been between 215 and 225#.

2. The competition. I have to admit, since my first race (10k in June of '07), I have just gotten a big kick out of competing. This kind of surprised me - I was not an athlete in high school or college. I get good butterflies before every race, and am now starting to get a good feel for the pacing and strategy of racing.

3. The chance to stay informed. I listen to podcasts when I run (except for very hard tempo or interval runs). I listen to NPR and BBC podcasts, as well as any interesting politics and business podcasts. I feel really on top of what is going on in the world. This feeds the political junkie in me.

4. Perhaps most importantly - I just get a kick out of it. Running is the highlight of my day. Given that I run almost exclusively early in the morning, it gets my day off to a great start.

So, that's what I think!