Beautiful Running

Hi everyone,

Just thought I would share a little bit about my training experiences so far and give some tips that have been helping me out and maybe you'll do the same for me.

I've never been a big runner other than keeping myself healthy and running a few miles a week. Since I have my huge goal of running a marathon in a few months and I have a great cause to motivate me, I've become really focused on achieving my weekly goals. I'll admit, it's not always easy getting up early on a Saturday and getting started on a ten mile run but I just did it and I loved it!

The thing that has really been working for me on my long runs is finding new places to explore while I run so I am visually stimulated, which helps pass the time and makes the long runs much more enjoyable. I've been lucky enough to be away pretty much every weekend for the past two months thanks to weddings, family events and fun trips. For every weekend that I have been away I have used both Mapmyrun.com and the people who know the locations where I will be on the weekend to give me suggestions for my longer runs.

Over the past few weekends I have been able to run through the fields in VT overlooking beautiful mountains, along the Farmington River in CT, on the beach in RI, and through dirt roads in a country town in Westchester NY. Taking these runs has not only allowed me to achieve my goals but also to see things that I wouldn't necessarily have an opportunity to see. I saw two beautiful deers this past weekend who just stared at me probably wondering what the heck I was doing, gorgeous country homes that I aspire to own one day and picturesque views filled with lush greenery.

Even when I am back in the city I have been able to find new and different runs in Central Park, Prospect Park in Brooklyn and even around different neighborhoods that I haven't really explored.

Another thing that has helped me along the way is allowing the running to become a part of my schedule. I'm lucky enough to have friends who like to run so they've been running along side me on my shorter runs during the week and then we can enjoy a delicious dinner with out any guilt afterwards!

I'm enjoying the challenge and hope you are as well. I'm always up for new runs and running partners so let me know if you have any ideas!

Best,
Patrick