How to Entertain Yourself While Running 12 Miles Solo

Sometimes, life happens and you can't do your long run with friends. Although I love my solo runs, I've come to enjoy doing my long run with my girls. It just makes the time go by faster. Yesterday, I set off with a positive attitude but wasn't sure how Ludacris Radio on Pandora was gonna get me through this 12 miler alone.

As I was running, since most of the route was familiar to me, I decided to just soak in my surroundings and enjoy (all while trying to keep that goal pace that is slower than I'm used to running my long runs). From all of that soaking in of my wonderful city of Gahanna, I decided my run was like it's own adventure...like a book. So, to entertain myself, I decided each mile was a different chapter. Each would get its own title to earn significance in my run. Before you knock my weirdness, you should try it! I dare you to go on a long solo run and do the same! :)

 

Without further ado, here are my chapters:

M1 Warm up while mentally preparing for the Morse Rd hill

• I wasn't skurred or anything ;) I just knew it was coming and that I'd be tempted to stop by the taco place instead of running up the hill. So maybe I was mentally preparing not to stop and get food instead.

M2 The Hill

• I like this hill. Sometimes it's hard, sometimes it's easy. Today, moderate. I've never been one to look up elevation charts but I looked up this one last night. It's approx. a 132ft climb over approx. 1.25 miles. Those numbers mean nothing to me but they might to you (and if they mean something, please tell me what that is!).

M3 Finish that hill + Sweet relief

• There is nothing more awesome (actually there are a lot of things more awesome) than the feeling you get after reaching the top of a hill. That feeling your body gets when the ground flattens and you can breathe again.

M4 Have your best running form as you run by Second Sole

• Every time I run by Second Sole (or any other sports place for that matter), I feel the need to straighten up my posture, run with perfect form, and, in general, look awesome...kind of like I try to do when I pass a camera during a race except not look as stupid as I tend to do! Anyone else do that?!

M5 Dodge cars and splash in puddles when they (the cars) don't move

• I was on Johnstown Rd. in this section where it turns into Mill Street. There is no sidewalk until you get to Creekside and the street is curvy. I was being more cautious in this section because of the cars. I was doing a great job of using my agility skills to avoid puddles until one stupid car decided it wasn't going to move over for me (even though there was no other car around). My dang right foot got wet just in time for a gradual uphill section.

M6 I heart Creekside

• My thoughts went as follows: "OH! I could go for a Local Cantina margarita right now; get out of my way person who just left the bar and didn't buy me a drink...if I turn right, I could go to Whit's...but it doesn't open until Monday!! BLAH! No win all the way around. Focus, Lisa. You are half way through this run." Safe to say that I'm random.

M7 T Pain's Booty Wurk aka my fastest mile

• I don't have to elaborate too much here. If you don't know the song, look it up and listen. We do this one in Hip Hop Fitness and it was so hard for me not to stop and do the routine in the middle of Gahanna. So, instead, I decided to run a faster mile. It helped that it was slightly downhill.

M8 Another Mother Runner, a skunk smell, and more hills

• It might not have been a mom, but she looked of mom age...I'd like to think she was a mom cuz I got all excited. Then I smelled a skunk just before we passed each other. She probably thought I had issues based on my face....wait, did she think I smelled like a skunk. Oh well, I need to conquer these shorter steeper hills so I can't worry about that.

M9 Familiar territory

• Kind of a boring mile.

M10 All about gettin' low

• "How low can you go?" asked Luda. I responded by telling him this isn't the mile in which I will show how low I can go. Then the Ying Yang Twins kept pressuring me to "Get Low"...until the sweat drop down...well, you know the rest.

M11 Envision that finish

• ...and look like you're not tired as you pass the fire station (just like when you passed Second Sole)

M12 I can see my house!

• Literally, I could see my house in the distance for most of this mile. I'm not sure if that was motivating or annoying. I do know that I was super happy to be there when I finally arrived. Yay for 12 solo miles on a gorgeous day :)