Home Running

Usually when people say they have to "run home," they mean they have to get home quickly or make a quick stop there. When I say I have to run home, it means I lace up my sneakers, secure my keys and cell phone somewhere in my sports bra and literally run home.

I have to thank my coworker for getting me into this. She always has run from work to a bus stop three miles away, and when she found out I had to lose weight and up my cardio, she insisted I join her. Abby has been one of my biggest supporters through this whole diet and exercise debacle and I consider myself lucky to be surrounded by such awesome coworkers (my other coworker Kristin is always there to give me reasons why I should run when I feel like taking to L home). They're even urging me to run my first half marathon in August. But that's another story for a different day.

I decided to take Abby up on her offer and mapped the route from work to home-- exactly 4.3 miles. A scenic route through neighborhoods like the Gold Coast, where I pass houses I'll never afford to live in, including the original Playboy Mansion. The first time I ran with Abby, I clutched my L pass in one hand expecting to hop of the L or bus halfway into the run. Surprisingly, I was able to run the entire way... slowly. By the time I reached the steps to my apartment, I thought my lungs were going to explode.

But I stuck with it. Abby ran slow with me (probably slower than her usual pace) and another time I pushed her to run a half mile further than she was used to. I started running home from work on my own during days when Abby had a different workout to do. (Did I mention that on days I run home I get home about 10-15 minutes later than I do on days I take the L?).

To give us an incentive to stick with it, we both signed up to run a 10K the first weekend of June. To add another incentive, we made a deal that once we hit five miles in one run, we get to treat ourselves to lunch at the Chinese buffet downstairs in our building--on the condition that we hide in a dark corner while eating it.

Today, I ran home from work in record time. I don't know if it's because I've had practice, because I ran 4.6 miles this weekend or because I drank an abnormal amount of water this afternoon but I had a bounce in my step that pushed me to jog faster and shave about 10 minutes off my usual time. I felt amazing (and I don't use that word lightly because I feel it's often inappropriately overused) during my run, even through my "hump" (between miles two and three). And when I got home my lungs didn't hurt.

This can mean only one thing: it's time to tack on some more distance to the run. Chinese buffet here I come!