WHY WE RUN

Okay, like we haven't seen this 1000 times and usually blow right past it. Typically, it is the headline of an article about challenging ones' self, setting goals and reaching them, or perhaps even for weight loss reasons as part of a new outlook on life. All very valid, respected answers that I have answered the same way depending on when you ask me. Today, however, I want to answer this question differently and make you think about running a bit differently.
"I run because I like to see with my own eyes what the world has to show me". That is my answer today with this post. By this I mean that I have always tried to run everywhere that I can. Anytime that I travel anywhere I get in a run anytime I can. Much of it has been on work/business trips. I have traveled to the following places on work trips and run at each one: Dusseldorf, Germany; Paris, France; London, England; Boulder, Colorado; San Diego, San Francisco, Miami, New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, Detroit, Cleveland, Kansas City, Dallas, Seattle, Vancouver, Boston, Philadelphia, Salt Lake City, Portland, Little Rock, Houston, Providence, Buffalo, Minneapolis, Orlando, Jacksonville, Phoenix, Watsonville, CA, and others that I have forgotten to mention (sorry). On these trips I usually get up early in the morning and go on my run before the work day begins. I find it a great way to start my day.
Then there are the places that I have traveled to for personal vacations that I always get in runs: Isle of Palms, S.C.; Sanibel Island, FL; Los Angeles, Duck, N.C., Beijing, China; Guangzhaou, China; Changsha, China; Myrtle Beach, Outer Banks, N.C., and probably others that I have forgotten. On these runs I again usually always go in the morning as it is a more peaceful time to run, cooler in the summer, and then I have the remainder of the day to spend with the family.
I always try to run everywhere I go.

Why am I telling you this?
I want you to get out there and see all the cool things that I have seen and experienced through running. There are a lot of runs that come to mind. I ran in San Francisco one morning. I got an amazing hill work out in. I saw some amazing houses, ran past the LucasFilms Headquarters and saw the Yoda Fountain, and watched the sun come up on the East side of the Bay with the Golden Gate Bridge just to the left, very cool.























I ran in a park outside of Boulder one morning and thought I was going to die for the first few minutes of my run. Then I realized that the altitude was what was causing this. During that run I also saw a sign posted on that run that warned of mountain lions in the area. Suffice it to say that I was making all kinds of noise during that run and I was glad I had my "Bear Bells" on my shoes. You don't want your significant other getting a phone call "Mrs. Calhoun we are afraid to tell you that your husband is lost in the mountains and probably has been mauled by a mountain lion". Be safe when you run in an unfamiliar place.










I ran one morning when we were in Beijing and I saw the National Flag raising ceremony in Tienanmen Square. It was very cool to see the reverence that another country gives it's flag and the pageantry that goes along with it. If you are ever in Beijing you have to get up early and go see this. And there were lots of people there to see this and it was at sunrise.








I ran at Half-Moon Bay very early one morning and from the top of the hill I could see the moon hanging as big as life above the Pacific Ocean. Very beautiful. Although this photos happens to be in the morning, you get the idea.









Travel Locally
Now, you don't have to get on a plane, or even drive to see cool things when you run. This was taken here in Bexley after a recent Saturday morning run with the Bexley Running Group. This is Jody, Mike, and I in front of a house with our friend Frosty. It was an amazing site and when the girl that lives here and helped make the snowman saw us out front she came out and offered to take our picture with the three of us in it. She didn't even have any shoes on. Crazy! But not as crazy as the height of this thing. It was quite the sight.
I'm sharing these stories not to impress you with where I have been so fortunate to have traveled to but to encourage you to take your gear with you when you travel and go run. Get up early and go run before that morning meeting. You will have more energy than anyone in the room and you'll feel great. You will see some of the most amazing things and meet some great new people that you would not have otherwise met.
TIP #1 - Take a plastic bag with you, or use the plastic laundry bag from the hotel to put your sweaty clothes in.
TIP #2 - If you don't know a route, check out MapMyRun before you go and find one there. I can almost guarantee you that you will find a number of different runs that people have mapped out in a given area. I mean, there are lots of runs for the most obscure places you can go. I even use MapMyRun when I want to find a local route that I have never run before. Here is the link to that website:
http://www.mapmyrun.com/

I should probably add that I did not take these pictures above but found them on the web (except for Frosty, of course). That is one thing that I need to do more of is take a camera with me when I travel and take it on my runs.
Happy Running!
Steve

COOL RUNNING BLOG TO CHECK OUT

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Okay, now that the "do this" portion of the blog is out of the way. Is anyone gearing up for a goal run this year? I would love to be your coach. I have over 17 years of running experience and I raced road bicycles for 10 years prior to that. I love to read everything I can get my hands on about every aspect of training and nutrition. I have a few runners that are gearing up for runs from 10K to half-marathon and a new triathlete that I am training for the Wendy's Triathlon. I have room in my schedule so if you have a goal and you want to reach it, contact me at stevecalhoun2003@yahoo.com or post a comment here and I will get right back with you.

Bexley Running Group - don't forget, we meet every Saturday at 10 a.m. in Bexley at the Jeni's Ice Cream at the corner of Parkview Ave. and Main St.. We usually run 4 miles as a group and some folks tack on miles afterward if you want a little more. We will not leave anyone behind and everyone can easily find a pace partner. It is snowing right now and calling for more snow through tomorrow morning, Saturday. It should be a great run tomorrow in the snow so PLEASE join us.
So, have a great weekend. Run carefully if you run outside. If you need motivation, check this out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obdd31Q9PqA
Now go Run!

SUNDAY RUN AT HIGHBANKS

Sunday, January 31st - 7:30 a.m.
My buddy, Jim Smith, and I ran 15 miles this morning at Highbanks Metropark here in Columbus, Ohio. It was 9 degrees F when we started. And that is F as in Fahrenheit and not an expletive. Although that would be warranted too. It was COLD but the sun stayed out the whole time. ALLELUIA! It really felt good when the sun would hit you as you could feel yourself warm up.
We started by doing one loop of the entire upper loop where we saw three deer. We joked that they said to themselves "What the hell are those furless idiots doing out here"? We then did two loops of the entire rest of the park. We did see more people than we thought we would, gladly. It's always comforting to know there are others out there with us.
The best part about running with someone that you are good friends with is that you can talk the whole way or choose to not talk at all. Jim and I have some great talks while we run. We come up with some great ideas, and some fun ones that might not make too much business sense but are fun none the less. We are working on a really good one right now so stayed tuned here for more details soon.

INSPIRATION
As we were running we talked about MMA (Mixed Martial Arts) and the UFC (Ulitmate Fighting Championship) and some of the intense, insane workouts that some of it's fighters do. One in particular is B.J. Penn, who is the lightweight champion. He lives in Hawaii and is known for his amazing stamina and conditioning. One training technique that Jim told me about is that he and his training partners swim out in the ocean to where the bottom is about 12'-15' down and they swim down to the bottom. While there they roll or pick up and throw heavy rocks, swim back to the surface, and do it over again. I tried to find a video of this but could not. Anyway, it inspired me. We had to stop for a "pee break" and as Jim was finishing up I found a log about 4' long and about 10-12" in diameter. It weighted about 25-30 pounds. I picked it up, hoisted it over my right shoulder, and continued running. At first I thought, "I'll probably won't be able to keep this up too long". Well, I ran along and felt pretty good. I did switch shoulders once and as we got to an intersection that we would run past again, I put the log down. As we got back to that intersection about 1/2 mile later, I picked it up again and ran with it again for a while and dumped it off back close to where we parked. I have to say that it was not easy at times but I got a great workout. I probably ran with it for about 1 mile all together.
The reason I relay this is not to impress but to share with you the fun and challenge that I got from thinking outside of the training box that I find myself in sometimes. Challenge yourself. Do things differently. You never know when you will find something that works for you and that you really like doing. Jim challenged me to run the entire Burning River 100 mile race this July with that same log, carrying it the whole way. At first I thought, "You must be crazy". I'm re-thinking my position. Stay tuned...