A few weeks ago, I came up with the phrase M.O.M. time – okay, obviously, I’m not the first person in the world to say I’m taking some “Mom Time.” Duh. But M.O.M. in this case means My Own Miles, and I was referring very specifically to running alone.
Back before I became a running coach and fitness, uhhh, “guru,” I never gave a second thought to running by myself. I always ran by myself, with maybe the super occasional couple of miles with friends or UltraIronHubs or the kids like three times a year. But now, as a personal trainer, I run with clients pretty frequently. So often, in fact, that almost half of my weekly mileage includes company.
And maybe if I was running with friends instead of clients, I wouldn’t get to the end of the week feeling the way I do. Don’t get me wrong, I love running with clients – I mean, hello, I get paid to run. There is no downside! But it’s still different than regular running. I’m paying attention in a different way, listening to their breathing, thinking about their pace and their goals, thinking about them. Yes, I guess that does make me sound awfully selfish and self-involved, but there you have it.
Do you remember that episode of Seinfeld where both Elaine and George were abstinent, and George got really smart and Elaine got really dumb? That’s how I feel when I don’t get to run alone – like Elaine. A little foggy and kind of stupid. And Jerry’s theory was that for women, sex (or in my case, running) is like taking out the garbage. A necessary daily chore that keeps things from piling up. Apparently, if I don’t get that M.O.M. time, my brain gets all cluttered with junk.
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| Of course this is from a different episode, but I couldn’t resist the “full body dry heave.” This show was so freaking funny! My sister and I often remark that there’s no situation in life that can’t be summed up with a Seinfeld reference. Or Friends. Or, because we’re in our late 40s, the occasional Brady Bunch quote. |
So, what was so important that I needed to run a few miles and think it out? Well…nothing, to be honest. I spent this morning’s really lovely almost four miles thinking about ducks and rap music and loose dogs and hobos and shopping and next week’s 50K. Nothing earth-shattering or ground-breaking or even interesting enough to tell you about. But damn, do I feel better! Thank goodness for running my own miles.
I can’t totally relate to this since I pretty much always run by myself, but I can imagine that I would feel the same way if ever in that situation. Unrelated – Jason is a huge lover of Seinfeld and I am of Friends. Such great shows.
Can you spare a square? (Remember that episode?)
I run alone. I enjoy an occasional run with others, and love to race with my buddies, but can’t imagine doing that all the time.
I almost always run alone so lots of MOM time here. “They’re real and they’re spectacular” I think of that whenever I go near a steamroom.
Oh man, I love Seinfeld so much. I couldn’t chose a favorite episode. I actually love some of the early ones where they joked about the chemistry between Jerry and Elaine more.
I think it really is like taking out the garbage… you had to get rid of those pointless thoughts about ducks and hobos to make room for more important thoughts.
I end up running a lot either with the dog, the kiddo in the stroller, or both of them so the days I get to do my runs alone is truelove a treat! My favorite episode is the strike with Festivus!