Running Therapy

Tuesdays I run "Quality" runs. These can be any kind of hill or speedwork. I overslept Tuesday morning, and I planned on a nighttime hill run. I did not plan on a stressful, emotionally-challenging phone conversation right before the run. Well, my Tuesday night hill run was the best therapy I could get at that time (and the cheapest and least destructive).* I ran what most Spokanites would know as part of the Bloomsday Run (heading west on Riverside to SFCC), but instead of heading up Doomsday to enjoy a mostly downhill finish, I turned around at SFCC to rerun the hills by the cemeteries,** and to run back up the large hill on Riverside that leads from the M.A.C. to Peaceful Valley. This is a challenging run, but I was a runner with a mission, and I easily ran up and down those hills as if I were running on a flat trail. I barely noticed my hard breathing, focusing instead on my playlist (including a heavy does of Motley Crue) and getting out of my head.***

I came home and barely got out of my sweaty running gear before passing out for the night, and this morning--no more stress. All I could think about was my morning "easy" run.****

*I'll admit that retail therapy is my favorite form of "R" therapy, but I have been discovering the benefits of running therapy. I also considered sweets therapy, carb therapy, and wine therapy. I'm glad I decided against these options.

**I don't know if these are actually separate cemeteries, or one big cemetery split by the road.

***Primal Scream is a fantastic running song.

****This morning's easy run was less than easy. My amazing and hard hill run + less recovery time than normal made it challenging, but since I finished, it was still a great run.