All of us face many struggles when it comes to fitting in more exercise. Be it injury, 40-hour work weeks, or busy family schedules – there always seems to be a reason to where lacing up and taking off doesn’t seem all that probable.
I, especially, have been feeling the crush of this reality. With the Portland weather being so beautiful and trails being right outside of my work it is especially hard to swallow. As I drive to work while the streets are quiet, I see runners shuffling along and think of how nice it would be to breathe in that cold air, to wake up by moving my legs.
Running is my quiet place, it’s my place where I don’t have to think at all or I can think about what is really weighing down on my heart. When I can’t do it I just feel a little repressed, a little muted.
I have pretty much come up with standard activities to stem the tides of these not so very good feelings that probably befall everyone, not just runners. Here they are:
- Check Run Oregon Blog (shameless plug alert) and see what others are up to in the community. I especially love seeing the beautiful pictures that are posted from peoples’ runs on the facebook page.
- Mosey over to Runner’s World and read the columns and running news.
- Check out Ask Lauren Fleshman and work on my girl crush. I wish she would post more, but according to her Instagram, she’s busy training, duh.
- Listen to Another Mother Runner podcasts and laugh along with Dimity and SBS.
- Check out my race calendar just one more time to make sure I am not missing anything.
It’s not ideal, but it helps me cope with the FOMO when it comes to running. What I wouldn’t give to just be on Leif right now, blood pumping, and heavy breathing and all.
How do you cope with not being able to run?