Running Survey

Happy Friday! I hope your weekend is shaping up to be fun and relaxing. We have family in town this weekend and I am so looking forward to some quality time with my sister and brother-in-law and our two nieces. The girls (nieces and Zoey) are having a sleepover, which I think they will all love! Hopefully Zoey can still sleep with all the excitement of her cousins in her room.

I saw this running survey on Run Eat Repeat’s blog and thought it would be fun to share my own answers. Please play along in the comments, as I’m always curious what other runners prefer!

Before we get started, here are a few running-related posts you might be interested in:

• How to Survive a Mid-Run Ankle Roll
• 10 Tips for Running in the Sun & Heat 1-5, and 6-10
• 6 Interval Runs For When You Just Don’t Feel Like It
• Why You Should Be Running Intervals
• Running Workouts

1. Would your rather run along a beach path or on a mountain trail? Mountain trail for sure! The trails are more fun since you have to pay more attention, and it feels like you are running faster because you can’t see straight ahead of you forever. I do love the beach, but not for running.

2. If you could choose the flavor of Gatorade at your next race’s aid stations, what would it be? I struggle with Gatorade because of some poor race nutrition planning in my first two marathons. If I have to choose, I vote the blue flavors. Really, anything but yellow. (I am about 22 in the below picture. So young, so naive.)

3. If I gave you a $100 gift card to a running store, what would be the first thing that you would purchase with it? A truly supportive sports bra. Being a bit on the busty side (especially as runners go), finding a high impact sports bra that is comfortable and provides coverage is nearly impossible at a non-running store. The running stores also carry super cute patterns.

4. Do you prefer to follow a training plan or wake up and decide then how far and fast you want to run? Training plan. It keeps me on track, gives me a set goal each day, and I know how it will benefit me for my race/fitness goal. There is also something mentally easier about knowing that I have to get through a certain number of miles or intervals before I’m done.

Get your own half marathon or 10k training plan here. It comes with your running schedule, strength, and core workouts so you can cross that race day finish line feeling comfortable and confident.

5. Would you rather start your run with the uphill and end on the downhill or start with the downhill and end on the uphill? This is actually a tough one. I’m going to vote starting with the uphill. Sure, it doesn’t give me a chance to really warm up, but at least I will feel like a super fast runner on the ending downhill.

6. When you can’t run, what type of cross training do you choose to do? Nothing too exciting or different, honestly. For cross training I walk, hike, or strength train.

7. What’s your preference – out and back or point to point or loop runs? Truthfully, I don’t mind any of them. Loop runs keep things interesting, point to point adds some adventure, and out and back keeps things specific on distance.

8. If you could recommend ANY running related item to a new runner, it would be a….? Good pair of shoes. Seriously. Go to a running store, have them analyze your gait (it is usually free), and take their recommendation on the type of shoe you need to make your running as comfortable as possible. The right pair of shoes can change everything related to your training.

9. Do you ever see any wild animals while out on your runs? When I lived in Arizona and ran in the morning before work along the wash, there was always a pack of coyotes chasing after the rabbits. I’ve also seen boring things like deer, raccoons, and stray dogs.

10. Ever gotten lost while out on a run? So so so many times. I’m convinced that’s why my parents gave me a GPS watch, to ensure I would be able to find my way home. I’m seriously directionally challenged.

11. If you could have one meal waiting and ready for you each time you got home from a run for the next 30 days, what would that be? A run between 3-6 miles, just something super cold and a bit sugary to drink: smoothie, slushy, ginger ale. A run of 8 miles or more, a popsicle, pizza, or pasta. But pizza and pasta are my answer for everything, so that’s not much of a surprise.

12. Capris or shorts….what do you run in most often? I prefer to run in shorts, but through the winter, spring, and fall I am mostly in capris. The weather in Denver is so fickle that you never know what you are going to get.

13. At what mile (or how many minutes) into your run does your body start to feel like it is warming up and ready to go? After the first 5-10 minutes I usually have found my stride and feel good. Longer runs (between 8-20 miles) have their ebbs and flows. Sometimes I feel awesome in the double digits and sometimes I feel like death. It really all depends on what I’ve eaten, what time of day it is, and what my motivation is for finishing the long run.

14. What do you do with your key when you run? Three places depending on what I am wearing and how far I am going: tied to my shoe, in my water bottle holder, or in the pocket of my shorts. I used to leave it under my doormat because I am way too trusting of people, but I don’t do that anymore.

15. If you could relive any race you have done in the past, which one would it be? There are so many good ones! There was a race in Phoenix that I biked to (about 6 miles), ran and won first place woman, and then biked home. I felt like a badass.

I also loved all the marathons I ran – twice at the Phoenix Rock ‘n Roll, once at the Denver Rock ‘n Roll. My parents and oldest sister, Kate, came to watch in Phoenix, but the one in Denver I actually met all of my race goals.

RQ: If you could have one meal waiting for you after a run, what would it be?