My Weekend Country Run

My favorite thing about running is how easy it is to change up your environment and in turn, recharge your excitement about running. This past weekend I went to visit my parents. It was our last chance before our school year started to really get to spend some time with them.

My parents live “out in the country”. Really. Even though they “live” in one town, they are actually closer to the next one. I guess it’s a good thing they moved there after I graduated high school. A visit to see them is always a chance to change things up a bit on my runs. This weekend I got to change it up even more…my little sister joined me.

We started out down the gravel driveway through the humidity after it rained the day before. We talked as we warmed up, and here I am still in shock we’re doing this together, but loving it. We hit the main street that goes through our area and do intervals on the hills all the way to the volunteer fire station 1.73 miles. With the sun already beating down on us and the humidity seeming even worse, we speed walk the 1.73 miles back to our parents’ house.

The amazing thing about his venture out is how fresh everything seemed. When you run in concrete all the time, running in the country provides a sensory experience. The entire world seems fresh, even if you do smell cow manure (gag). The grass seemed greener, the sky a bit bluer, everything more vibrant than the typical urban/suburban trek I usually run. One or tow pretty yards can only hold someone over for so long.

The other thing that made this run so great was that I was with my little sister. We don’t talk often, but during this hour, we talked about everything. The houses we were passing, my boys, our husbands, budgets, my business, her upcoming adventure of law school, you name it. It took one common thread, running, to pull us back together again. I would not trade that time for anything.