Running Un-Routine – How to Retread an Old Running Route

Keeping it fresh

How do you keep your running routine and routes from becoming just that, routine and boring? I took up running four years ago and often run the same route over and over. Others I know have waxed and waned in their commitment to running as their chosen exercise. Although injury and other health issues have taken their toll on some, for the most part a loss of motivation has been the grim reaper of running routines.

It can be fun and motivating to train for a race, but tough to keep the commitment to running when the race is done and the next big event isn’t scheduled. Often people will run with others or a friend to keep motivated. But what about those times when you are on your own? When no one else can or wants to go with you?

So one day while out on one of my runs I got to thinking about the little things I have been doing over the years that have kept my running routine and the routes I run fresh and interesting.

Running is meditation

One of the things I have done is use my runs as an opportunity to do some deep thinking and contemplation. Running and meditation can be synonymous. I have often taken off on a run with a mind full of things I have needed to work out or noodle over. When I am in that state of mind, it doesn’t matter how many times I may have run a particular route, I am engaged in my own internal world and the run is my means for getting things figured out. Getting your feet and legs pumping helps clear the mind. Einstein used to eat an apple to accomplish the same thing. When you go for a run both body and mind are benefited.

Running to learn

Many people like to listen to music while they run. I will often listen to podcasts of topics I want to learn more about. Often I listen to the podcast of a radio program that I was not able to catch when it was broadcast on the radio. I am a big fan of the Science Friday program on National Public Radio. There are podcasts available on just about every subject you might be interested in, and they are often free. Use the time to learn about a new subject you have been interested in. Never had the time to learn a second language? There are podcasts for that.

The same, differently

This next suggestion might seem silly, but can be very effective at shaking things up on a route you have run a hundred times – run it on the other side of the street or run the route in reverse. I have been amazed at the new things I notice when I do this, things I would have sworn weren’t on the route and yet I passed them dozens of times. Both small and big things, like entire houses and buildings I never noticed before – I wouldn’t make a very good eye witness to a crime. Running an old route in a different way can make that old route new again. A change of perspective can be unexpectedly refreshing.

Interchangeable streets

Another great way to make an old route new is to change up some of the streets you run on while keeping the basic route the same without changing the distance of your run. I have routes that have an “A” configuration or a “B” configuration. Depending on my mood that day I may choose to run the A or B configuration. This is a great way to keep a route interesting when you don’t want to have to come up with a new route to run that day but you want to get in those miles you committed to running.

New shoes

Sometimes, running in a new pair of running shoes or a new piece of clothing, or with a new piece of monitoring equipment can keep things interesting. It’s like when you were a kid and you would get a new pair of sneakers. I would be all excited about how fast my new sneakers could make me run (so I thought). Off I would go in a sprint to show my friends how fast my new shoes were. It was the excitement of trying out something new. Although the “new shoes” phenomena doesn’t last long, (you could go broke if it were the only method used to keep your runs interesting), it can have a place in helping you stay motivated to keep running.

The more you know

This suggestion involves learning more about running and running techniques. After I had been running for several years I started to learn about different ways to run, such as barefoot running, running in minimalist shoes, running on the balls of one’s feet, different postures while running, and other techniques. There are many ways to run and the more you know, the more choices you have about how you will run a route. You can practice a new running technique on an old route without having to put thought into where you are headed. It frees your mind to concentrate on the new technique.

End of the route

These are only a few suggestions about how to turn a routine route into something new and fresh. The ways you can retread an old running route are only limited by your imagination. Have you ever counted down mile markers if you ran along a country highway? Played the alphabet game, as in finding the letters A through Z on signs or car license plates while out running? How many fire hydrants do you run by on your route?

You can always find brand new routes to run but if your goal is to keep running for years to come, chances are you will be running some of your routine routes over and over again. Those old tried and true routes can become like new with a little thought about how you approach them the next time you lace up your shoes and go for that run. The trick involves using your mind as much as you are using your feet.