SO, I’ve been having trouble finding motivation to run. Maybe it’s because I don’t have a race to actually train for right now (I have plenty of prospective races to do for other states and CO, but not starting until August. Mostly because next month is REALLY busy – I’m going on vacation and house sitting after that). Maybe my lack of motivation is due to the bad weeks I’ve been having. Or maybe I burnt myself out on running (I hope this is NOT the reason).
SO, I went out for a run on thursday and I turned LEFT. I know what you’re thinking… “So?” Well, I am a horrible creature of habit. When I go out for my regular runs, just a short quick run, I have the same path I always take. I live right next to a lovely lake (the scenery is beautiful, but the water is gross.. I don’t recommend water sports in the lake). The lake itself is about 3 miles around, and I live about half a mile from the lake. It makes for a great 4 mile run. It also perfect size for upping my milage. If I got 2 times around, it’s a 7 miles run; 3 times around, 10 mile run…and you get the point. Or I drive to the lake, and my milages is 3, 6, 9 or 12…etc.
Sloan’s Lake, my regular run
SO, to attempt to regain my motivation, I turned left…with no route in mind. I just ran. It felt amazing. I just turned when I felt like it. Went as far up the street as I felt. It turned out to be a very pretty route. I live in a historic district in Denver, so the houses are beautiful, people’s yards are magnificent: full of flowers and trees (plenty of shade on the hot day). Once I got tired, I turned to head home.
Another side of the lake
How about you guys? Do you have a regular running route? Or do you switch it up every time?? Do you guys try to find pretty places to run like lakes/parks, or just run along the street?
Racing & Wandering 
If I run around my place, all my runs are out and backs, except for my farm track route, which requires me to run up one big hill then down another, (there’s no escaping it!). The farm track is hard packed mud, so if it’s been raining, it can get very soft and messy. I do get bored with routes around me, and I have this weird tendancy to want to stay closer to home. If I’m with my running group, we stick to the same town routes during the winter, and once the days are longer, we venture out to forrest routes and farm roads. Very picturesque around here, so the scenery’s always beautiful, even when it’s raining.
I have two sets of routes I run. If I turn right from my house, I have my standard 4 miler which I can extend by adding a number of side routes.
If I turn left, it means I am going for a serious long run. About a mile out, there is a Cat 5 climb that I go down (and later have to go back up) and the hills continue from there. But is it very picturesque running on quiet roads.