About That Running Thing I Do

I'm not sure I really like running.  I've had troubles with shin splints, IT band and feet that cramping, but other than that, I haven't had any real injuries.    I seem to be able to run with relative ease and I can easily still run a half marathon distance with nothing more than needing to eat a nice, calorie-laden meal afterwards.   But I'm not sure I actually like running.

I like having time to talk to my two good running buddies.   It's great to have several hours with nothing else to do than talk while you run alongside each other.  That part is great.  I like burning all those calories because one of the main reasons I run is so I can eat whatever I want.   I do so like to eat.   I particularly like to eat things that are high in calories.

I've tried being a faster runner.   That's when I got the shin splints.   I thought it was shoes, and I still think it was in part.   But I've tried on and off running faster and every time I get a little more speed on, the shin pain comes back.  When I run at my podunk pace, no pain at all.   Being the type of person who likes no pain over any pain, I am perfectly fine being a dreadfully slow runner.

What I think I like the most about running, isn't running at all.  I think I like having run.

The Big Boy Update:  My son wanted to play with a sugar packet at lunch today.  He didn't know it could be opened, but I warned him not to be too rough with it.  He mangled it enough that after lunch I told him we could go outside and I would show him what was inside it.   I told him there was powder inside that adults put in their drinks.   (You have to think about these things, because kids can turn any bit of seemingly harmless information to their advantage when you least expect it.)   So we went outside and opened the packet.  He saw some sugar crystals come out.   He put some on one plant and then he said, "I want to sprinkle this tree over here so it will grow."   "Good enough," I thought.

The Tiny Girl Chronicles:  At the pool yesterday, I was talking to another parent when I suddenly realized my daughter was getting completely naked over at the table where our things were.   What was going on?  Could she have pooped in her water diaper and is now taking it off so that all the other parents can freak out about the possibility of poop in the pool (and maybe cause the pool to be closed for twenty-four hours so it can be cleaned?)   No, that was not it at all.   She had seen the spare water diapers in the pool bag, had selected a new one and was about to put it on.   "Hi there, what do you need the new water diaper for," I asked.   "This one is wet," she tells me.   (It was wet because she'd been swimming in it for over an hour).    After she upgraded to a new, dry water diaper she got back into the pool.

Fitness Update:  Four miles this morning.  We were going to run more, but there were several reasons we had to stop and then it was time to head back.