Country Running Vs. 8 Mile Road Running

Back from a family vacation. 

The stress of traveling and packing and aside, vacations just bring out the best in life.

The best of our joy, our spontaneity, the best adventurous runs where we notice more of whats around us. The air is a bit more clean, which is pretty foreign to my lungs, so they suck it in with extra vigor. My legs feel refreshed and my spirit just got an oil change. Add in vacation sleeping, vacation coffee, vacation eating, and it was terrific. And a great vacation reminds you why you love your family.

I always make resolutions on vacation: I will live my daily life more like a vacation. I will be more spontaneous, more adventurous, more pleasant all around. I will get outside more just because and run different routes and not the same old same old.

The stress of the traveling home begins to unravel these resolutions.  Hitting the rest of the working world keeps the unraveling going strong. Pretty soon, you have to fight to keep it going.

 I was four hours home when I went out on a long, slow 12 miler in the darkness of a Friday night.  I ran over uneven sidewalk cracks filled with weeds past Burger Kings and dry cleaners. It was a path up and down 8 mile road that I’ve run hundreds of times before.

This was a far cry from my vacation runs which were done over expansive country roads over farmland, literally running from lake to lake, with deer visible every mile, and in complete silence besides the insects. A swooshing car from time to time only made the silence that much more noticeable. Largely, I was fully alone, and the majesty of the outside matched what I was feeling on the inside.

I am grateful to be healthy enough to run anywhere, but damn is it nice to do so in a beautiful location.