Monday, May 11, 2009

Creatures of habit


Humans by nature are creatures of habit, myself especially. When I find something I like, I stick with it. That means going to the same restaurants, choosing the same things off menus, buying the same wine at the same store, and doing the same workout. My workout was very consistent - run for 30 minutes on the treadmill while watching an old Star Trek episode that the DVR grabbed for me (apparently Girls Gone Wild has a huge audience with the Star Trek Voyager following, as evidenced by the 90 second commercial they play on EVERY break - thank you 30 second skip). This run became very routine, and even though I knew that you should mix it up in order to keep your muscles from becoming used to a workout, my habit won out.


Last week I decided to go for a run outside. I have no idea why I was suddenly insipred to do this, as I have always preferred running on the treadmill. I did a very easy out and back / loop combo that was only 2.4 miles. Even though it was pretty much completely flat it totally kicked my butt. I also got to run around the lake by my house while the sun came up, shining across the perfect glass surface with the flatirons in the background. I was sold. So Saturday I lost my mind and added the Davidson Mesa out and back in as well doing 5.4 miles, which is way longer than my normal 3 miles. Today I did 4.5 and while there's no doubt that I had a hard run (legs are sore), I'm not writhing in pain on the floor.


My new routine feels great, and now I have to figure out how to keep it from becoming a habit again...

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