Oxygen.
Whenever it gets hard thinking that for some unknown reason this might be the last run I ever do and enjoying that very moment and the good fortune that I can run.
Running in torrential rain knowing those in cars going past are saying “look at that idiot”.
Torrential rain always makes me feel like a badass.
When I go out and it’s drizzling even a little, I always plan a route where the most people will see me, hoping it will pick up
- Seeing other people running. Especially people that are running in the dark with appropriate lights and clothing. At 5am, when we’re both lit up with lights and reflective gear, we get kind of a mind meld.
- People that say hi or good morning. Especially other runners or bikers
- Friendly cats.
- Friendly dogs.
- Seeing ducks walking. Especially ducks that are obviously a couple. They stick together and just walk around. Its funny.
- Deer that don’t get scared when you run past
- Deer that run, but don’t bolt into the woods so you can try to keep up. I’m sure they’re just messing with me.
- Wearing headphones and having the random setting serve up every awesome song in a row
- Not wearing headphones and having an awesome run
- Trail running places most people backpack into. ex. North Cascades of Washington, the Enchantments.
- Water fountains that work.
- Bathrooms that are open when I run past them.
- Running somewhere on a hot day and jumping into a river or lake at the end of the run.
- Seeing shooting stars in the middle of an urban area early in the morning.
- Impromptu, unspoken races with running partners.
- The perfect shirt/shorts/socks/shoes
8pm, warm early summer twilight runs on my local path where everyone waves to each other.
Catching kids smoking herb on the trail in the dark who give me a sheepish, conspiritorial grin.
Being stressed out and just burning the hell out of myself on a tempo run, mulling over the unfairness of everything in my head until intolerable pain blots everything out.
Having horses snort at me in the winter as a run by and seeing the little puff of steam.
Running faster than cyclists.
Trying to guess dog breeds: is that a Norwegian Elkhound?
The Suicide Bunny Patrol - they dart this way, they dart that way and yet they’re still underfoot. I also like making up stupid names for the various agents of the SBP, e.g. Agent TwitchNose.
When the loose knees, shoe kicking, sudden pains and ungainlyness slowly transitions to magic carpet smoothness and the wind whistling past my ears.
Cold-ass January runs when it’s dark and snowing and you’re running past houses with the TV on thinking how hardcore you are.
Surprising coyotes as you come around a bend and watching them scatter.
Attractive women running the other way who favor me with a smile.
Finding your center and “home” where ever you are, all you need is a pair of shoes.
-when drivers see me and slow their cars to pass.
-days when the water in the bubbler at the 400 block park is cold.
-shade.
-waves from the locals along my run routes.
-the family that leaves a fresh bottle of water by their fence for me to drink on hot days. and the good luck note their daughter left me before IMWI last year.
-the dog that races me for a block on Adams Street.
-hearing the ~5 year old ask his mom if President Lincoln just ran by as i passed him yesterday (i’m still sporting my winter beard).
“Now when I went around that ledge that had scared me it was just fun and a lark, I just skipped and jumped and danced along and I had really learned that you can’t fall off a mountain. Whether you can fall off a mountain or not I don’t know, but I had learned that you can’t. That was the way it struck me.”
Your photo reminded me of this quote from Jack Kerouac in The Dharma Bums
- Ladies running in yoga pants.
- A warm breeze in the middle of winter.
- Plowed pathways.
- 10-15 degrees Celsius.
- When I don’t have to poop or fart throughout the entire duration.
When you’re halfway through a challenging interval workout and realize you really have your claws in it now, and even though the last two or three are going to be work… you got this.
Chastain Park in the summer with girls who wear lululemon.
- Leashes/invisible fences
- Greetings from strangers
- Beating someone who beat you last time
- Post-run protein shake
- Imagining the crowd chanting “Cass-i-dy! Cass-i-dy!”
Running with my dog!
Knowing that I will have done more by 9am than most people will do all day.
Watching the sunrise.
Watching the sunset.
Helping the occasional turtle cross the road.
Running through sprinklers in the summer!
Negative splits!
Running with my besties!
When you are a hour or two into your run and your body releases the endorphins that make you feel like you can run for ever.
YES!! Love this. Sometimes I think of ‘the one who always runs’. It’s an imaginary person who sleeps and runs, eats and runs, never stops. Always gets me motivated.
Also Love:
- passing others, or being passed - wakes you up
- really harsh temperatures - +40 or - 40 Celcius (my record range) - makes you feel alive
- worrying that I will be light headed, and realizing that I won’t be
- being in top 5 to 10% in the race
- listening to “The Prodigy” on the run, feel like an ultimate badass
The warm 5:30am run, the city is asleep, you can feel the stillness and there’s hardly a sound to be heard, its just you and your old shoes, you start off slow, suddenly you see another runner coming towards you, as you meet you nod a silent ‘‘hello’’ as if afraid to break the stillness with a word, the city starts waking up, a sound here, a light there, longer traffic jams and the stores that start to open, people in line for coffee, now the sun peeks a bit, but you’ve been out for a while and are finding a rythm, your shirt is wet already, a few minutes later, all warmed up and pumped the sun shows its face, there is a long car line at the traffic light and the people in their cars look at you like ‘‘who is this dude?’’, you pass another runner and this time you do say ‘‘good morning’’, you are almost done, the city is up, you are drenched in sweat your legs are tired but a dog who is getting bored of barking at cars finds his distraction in you, whoops! its a big one, you step on it even though you know the dog won’t bite, now there is a hill ahead, a challenge, keep going, don’t slow down, you are almost done, reaching the top of the hill is a spiritual experience, done! slow down, cool off, find a water fountain and rinse your dirty mouth, run slowly home, throw the stinking clothes on the basket and take a long cold shower, come down to the smell of fresh coffee, and if you are lucky well deserved eggs and toast, you are in a mood nothing else in this world can give you now, get out there and kick some.
Well said!
+1
LOVE a strong runners high!
D
every damn day.
-when drivers see me and slow their cars to pass.
-days when the water in the bubbler at the 400 block park is cold.
-shade.
-waves from the locals along my run routes.
**-the family that leaves a fresh bottle of water by their fence for me to drink on hot days. and the good luck note their daughter left me before IMWI last year. **
-the dog that races me for a block on Adams Street.
-hearing the ~5 year old ask his mom if President Lincoln just ran by as i passed him yesterday (i’m still sporting my winter beard).
Your neighbors are awesome. That’s fantastic. (So are the others)
This thread is so much easier than the Things That Piss Me Off thread…
- The people I run with
- The kids I coach
- A coke with ice after a long run
- Sunrises
- New running shoes
- Shorts and short sleeve or no shirt weather
- Chasing PR’s
- Beating HS kids
- Talking to other HS coaches at meets/clinics
- Running with my daughter
Starting out cold - and realizing after 15-20 minutes you’re perfectly comfortable
Seeing an old guy/gal who can still really run
A return smile & wave
Raising fitness to where the old turnaround point is now the end of the warmup
How simple it is
I’ve never had a mechanical running
The road is never closed for maintenance
Nailing the finishing kick for a strong finish
.
That I don’t have to work around the pool schedule and get preempted by scuba class, swim lessons, AquaZumba and mandatory rest breaks.
The other thread is about 90 posts ahead still, so thought I play:
Really obese people slogging it out. I always try to give them a thumbs up.A real old couple walking together.Deer when they don’t run off, they just look at you like "Whud up?"Some Asian dude doing yoga things with his arms while walking.A high school XC team out, just being stupid kids.
Seeing an old guy/gal who can still really run
A return smile & wave
This reminds me of one of my favorite running stories, ever. I’m up in a popular park (Rancho San Antonio, Bay Area) and having a GREAT run bombing down some less frequented trails. Come up on an older gentleman and yell some sort of friendly greeting both as a warning that I’m coming up and, well, I like saying hello to people while I’m running. So he makes some room for me to pass by and as I come through he says, “when I grow up, I want to be able to run like you”, to which it took me a second to process before I turned around and shouted the same well-wish back to him. It hit me like a ton of bricks–like nearly in tears of joy for the rest of the run. Best compliment I’ve ever received.
Wherever that gentleman is, I hope he’s still out there running. Rock on, dude, rock on.
That unsuspecting cycling pedaling easy that you can sneak in behind and draft off of for a bit. Some of my absolute favorite interval runs just involve hanging on for dear life when they realize and get pissed a runner is drafting off of them.