Runnin Down a Dream

If you're reading this blog, then you probably already know that I have a fairly serious running addiction. I was insane enough to make one of my last activities in the States before heading out for the Peace Corps a marathon (and a pretty spectacular and fun marathon at that!). Washington/Northern Virginia was the perfect place for me, with its crazy running population, miles and miles of nice running trails and series of races held throughout the year. It was one of my worries that I might have to give up running during PC. We packed our running things to bring with us, uncertain as to whether we'd actually be able to get any use out of them. Running tends to be a fairly odd thing in some places in the world (some parts of the U.S. included), and weather and other variables can be big hindrances to getting in a run.

On the weather front, Sam and I have been extremely fortunate so far to have had pretty much spectacular weather for outside exercising. Sure, we've had some cold, cold mornings and there's been some snow and ice, but we haven't had hardly any rain or anything that's been insurmountable. So weather hasn't been a huge factor.

Places to run haven't been too much of a problem either, thanks to all the street paving projects around town (which make it so that even when it does rain we've got blacktop to run on). When we've gotten snow and ice, we can go to the "soccer stadium" in town and run on the single-track path that loops lopsidedly around it for roughly a quarter of a mile. There's also a park not far from our house that is 1/5 of a mile around. So we have places to run.

Our biggest hassle is the stray dog (and often owned dog) problem. Dogs just roam around, alone or in packs, unhindered by fences or chains or dogcatchers. They make for some unpleasant moments when we come upon one or several of them unexpectedly, whether we're out running or just walking around town. We usually spot them in time to slow to a walk and grab a rock, and so far (knock on wood), we've been able to avoid any serious run-ins. We aren't too worried about the dogs, in any case, since there are always plenty of rocks to threaten them with and since we've already had to get the first three shots in the rabies shots series. So dogs are a problem, but (at least for now) not too much of a problem.

We do get some odd looks and remarks from locals as we run. Mostly these have been easy to shrug off, though, and we don't really see it as a discouragement.

That means that we don't really have too many legitimate excuses against running in the morning. We've been decently good about getting in about 5 morning runs a week, usually for about 3 miles or so. It's always a little fun and rewarding to see people's eyes pop out of their heads when we tell them we've run 5 kilometers and that it's something we do regularly. Today we had a man shout at us "Go sportsmen!" as we looped around the park.

I may not be in my peak marathon performance shape, but I sure am glad to have been able to continue running. Nothing I know helps me better beat stress than a nice run (or even a difficult, terrible run for that matter). And given the extremely large quantities of food we eat every day, running has at least helped keep the weight gain down (although not entirely eliminated it...). So as we approach the end of 2010 and the beginning of 2011, I'm looking forward to another great year full of running. I hope you all can keep running and have fun, too!