Running Away From Work
I tried something new today: running home from work. I don't know why it was as much fun as it was, but this was the best run I had of the year. It wasn't particularly long or fast, but the weather was sunny and just below freezing, the sidewalks were clear, the knee felt good, and (probably a major factor) I was running AWAY from work!
Now, I actually enjoy my job quite a bit so this was not as much fun as it might have been had I been running away from work I really didn't like, but it still brought a smile to my face. It also felt pretty cool to be commuting by foot. I'd like to do this more often as it will allow me to increase my running mileage and serve a very practical purpose at the same time. I just wish my office building had shower facilities or I could conceivably run to and from work.
The run worked out to be exactly the distance called for in the running plan - convenient. I left the office a bit earlier than normal (Owen and Monica were heading off to spend the weekend at the Beaver winter camp so I needed to be home early anyway) and started my run at a little after 4pm. The sky was clear, the wind a little chilly, and the conditions pretty much perfect for February. I did the 7km meandering from the downtown core towards home and navigating the fairly heavy pedestrian traffic in 39:20, which translated to an average pace of 5:37/km. This was a bit faster than I wanted to be going, but I really didn't pay attention to the watch while I was running. My heart rate average was 144bpm, so I still was in the easy zone. As I mentioned above the knee (once again taped up) felt good, and wearing a backpack stuffed with work clothes and such didn't really pose too much of an encumbrance.
In short: I had a blast!
Garmin don't lie.
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Now, I actually enjoy my job quite a bit so this was not as much fun as it might have been had I been running away from work I really didn't like, but it still brought a smile to my face. It also felt pretty cool to be commuting by foot. I'd like to do this more often as it will allow me to increase my running mileage and serve a very practical purpose at the same time. I just wish my office building had shower facilities or I could conceivably run to and from work.
The run worked out to be exactly the distance called for in the running plan - convenient. I left the office a bit earlier than normal (Owen and Monica were heading off to spend the weekend at the Beaver winter camp so I needed to be home early anyway) and started my run at a little after 4pm. The sky was clear, the wind a little chilly, and the conditions pretty much perfect for February. I did the 7km meandering from the downtown core towards home and navigating the fairly heavy pedestrian traffic in 39:20, which translated to an average pace of 5:37/km. This was a bit faster than I wanted to be going, but I really didn't pay attention to the watch while I was running. My heart rate average was 144bpm, so I still was in the easy zone. As I mentioned above the knee (once again taped up) felt good, and wearing a backpack stuffed with work clothes and such didn't really pose too much of an encumbrance.
In short: I had a blast!
Garmin don't lie.
View Larger Map
posted by Vava at
9:28 PM
7 Comments:
great idea and good run! enjoy the weekend :)
Looks like a great way to de-stress at the end of a day. Not an option for me as I live nearly 20 miles from work... I'm not that ambitious. :-)
I love running home too. I don't do it nearly as often as I should.
That's great that you ran home from work. I've often thought about it, but I am concerned about my safety. I work in a not so nice town.
I do try to run errands (going to the atm, picking up dry cleaning, etc) and I find that they sometimes are more enjoyable than my normal runs.
ShortTurtle: Running errands is a great idea too! I never thought of that, but will try and incorporate it into my running if I can.
i love running away from work too! glad the running is going well!!!
I love this idea and have been wanting to try it for a while. Unfortunately I live 17 miles from work. Someday though...
Well done!
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