Have you lost that lovin' feeling?

It's around this time each year that I am reminded the importance of stressing FUN to all the runners out there, old and new.

Right now there a lot of new runners hitting the roads and trails for a myriad of reasons (some good, some better, some... terrible), those 1st year runners who made this some new year resolution are past that magical 90 day mark (almost 4 months in), and many seasoned vets are in peak season.

Remember, above all else, running is to be a stress relief not a cause of stress.
If on your runs you find yourself so focuses on heartrate, your GPS, VO2 max, splits, kicks, min/max etc etc etc you, my friend, may have lost that lovin' feeling

So, on your next run, leave all the gadgets at home.  Yes, all of them.  That one too.  Turn off all the noise, go out by yourself, relax, get rid of all the junk, the clutter, the stress, the work, and just run.  Just... run.  

Look around you and actually See the route you run, breathe the fresh air, hear your foot steps, feel your heartbeat, relax - and enjoy.

Fall in love with running again.

Running is relaxed, it's taking that amount of time, whether it's 5 minutes or 5 hours, and for that block of time you run away from all your problems, all your stress, all those that pull against you, that drain you, they can't see you, you can't hear them, they can't catch you.  Breathe in nature, pray, sing, think, or... empty your mind of everything and think Nothing - just feel.

Running is meditation in motion.  If it's not, get back to when it was.  Start over.  Reboot.  And get back... that loooooovin' feeeeeelin' (even if it's in an off key Tom Cruise sort of way)