Running

Well, I am getting ready for my next half marathon in September. I got up this morning at the crack so I could get my run in, but man do I feel great when I am finished!  Normaly during the school year I load up Lucie and Liam in the jogger and we are off, but now that Stella is home I have to get more creative about how I sqeeze in my runs. I put in 9 mi on Saturday and hopefully get up to 10 in the next week or so.

This is me finishing my last half. Ahh... so happy to be done.

1:54 min

When you envision running, you probably will fall into one of two categories. Either you love it or you hate it; sometimes it is even a love/hate relationship. It’s painful, tedious, and exhausting. So what makes people love it? What makes people who hate it keep doing it? It is likely that the benefits of running outweigh the hatred (if there is any).

 
1. Stay fit, approximately 60 percent of runners start running to manage their weight. Running is one of the top activities for burning fat. In fact, with the exception of cross country skiing, running burns more calories per minute than any other form of cardiovascular exercise.

2. Prevent muscle and bone loss.Our bones are made to accommodate the demands placed upon them. By sitting in front of the monitor all day many of us allow our bones to grow weaker, but by running regularly our skeleton gets the demand it needs to stay healthy. In addition to keeping our insides from aging quickly, regular, high-intensity exercise, like running, has also been proven to promote the human growth hormone, which celebrities have taken injections of for years to keep them looking young.

3. Fight disease.Running reduces the risk of stroke and breast cancer. Regular running has become a treatment option for doctors to prescribe to patients who are at a high risk, or early stages, of osteoporosis, diabetes, and hypertension. It reduces the risk of heart attacks, by strengthening the heart and lowering blood pressure. Running maintains the elasticity of arteries incredibly well because as you run your arteries expand and contract nearly three times as much as usual.

4. Maintain and improve general health.Running is one of the best activities most people can do to improve their health. It raises HDL (or “good”) cholesterol, reduces the risk of blood clots, and encourages use of the 50 percent of your lungs that usually go unused. Running also boost the immune system by creating a higher concentration of lymphocytes (white blood cells that attack disease).

5. Get confident.Jogging builds confidence and self-esteem like few other individual sports can. It allows the runner to defeat trial after trial, growing stronger and more sure of themselves with each footstrike. It allows you to truly climb hills and clear obstacles. It provides a feeling of empowerment and freedom that comes with knowing that your legs and body are strong and capable. Confidence is even more a product of running for those who lose weight and gain a better self-image through running.


6. Stress relief. This is another huge benefit of jogging. Running gives you time to escape things for awhile, tension easily flies by the wayside as you fly over the miles.  What could be better than a three hour run all by yourself to clear your mind. I even like to pray while I am on a long slow run.  Speed runs are great for tearing through aggression and anger. Focus all that emotion into a few sprints and you’ll feel better in no time.

Xoxo CC