As I get back in to running, training and racing I’ve discovered there are things that had become commonplace which are now once more ridiculous. In a short series of posts I’m going to remind you, fellow runners, of the once unusual things you now happily do to yourself.
#3 – RUNNING INVOLVES MUCH MORE THAN RUNNING
One of the great things about running, the big selling point, part of the reason we love it so much is that you can just pull on your trainers, go out the door and run.
This is true, to a degree…
Once you start running regularly there suddenly appears a whole lot of peripheral tasks. They creep in, like an insidious time eating parasite, until suddenly you realise that your whole life is revolving around those few hours you actually spend getting your sweat on.
Here’s a few examples of the things I have done this week, directly related to running but not actually running itself…
- charged my Garmin
- foam rolled 3 times
- 2 cold baths
- 4 extra showers
- 2 extra loads of washing & drying
- 4 extra car journeys
- uploaded and edited Garmin stats
- 1 shopping trip to buy a new club vest
- Checking out running routes, race details, training ideas etc on the web
- Countless hours talking about running
- 2 blog posts!
Still, it’s nice to have a hobby that’s so easy to get out and do!
Do you spend as much time doing running related admin as you do running itself?
WHAT JAMES DID 
Oh yes and let’s be honest the admin is part of the fun! I do try and avoid the cold baths though
The admin is all part of the experience, EVEN the cold baths! I wouldn’t change it…I’d just put longer between admin chores by running further!
Ooh like this post! Yep! I DEFINITELY spend more time on running-related stuff than actually running! race on Sunday involved about 70 mins of running but 2 hrs of driving to and from the race and about 4 hours of feeling nauseous from running in the sunshine!! (Plus about 12 hours of moaning from sitting on an ants’ nest by accident after the race)
It’s crazy, just how much is involved in doing something so simple! Good job we love it though…well…apart from the ant bites obviously!
I can relate to this. I always tell myself “Focus, Focus, FOCUS” and not on the shopping for new shorts, shoes or watch. I often pour over my training program or not-training regular running program, then get lazy when it comes to doing the actual running. It’s good to know I’m not alone.