Thoughts from a runner

This is my 3rd day in a row getting up early to workout! Yay me!  I actually ended up going to bed at 9:30 last night because I was so exhausted! This morning I woke up feeling refreshed and ready to go.

So this morning on my run, I got to thinking about how I have heard that "real runners don't listen to music when they run" just them and the pavement... Blah blah blah.

Well I decided to see of I was a real runner. Once I was running ocean-side, I took out my earbuds and let 'er rip just me, the pavement and the waves. It was serene, relaxing, and I felt myself struggling to keep the pace I was going for on my Tempo run. By 3.5k I decided it was nice, but I'd had enough. I put my earbuds in, turned up one of my favorite songs and cranked out the rest of my run upbeat and at a great pace :)

It was like the music drowned out that little voice in my head that told me I was tired, picked me up and drove me forward!  I could probably do one of my easy runs without music, but I really get pumped up with my music on.  I realize there can be safety risks when you run with music, I try to combat that by either running with one ear-bud in or playing my music quieter than I normally would.  Music = good running for Megan.

This brings me to my other thought, "real runners"? Well, here is my definition of a runner. Someone who repeatedly wills themselves to run any distance at any speed. I don't care if you're listening to music, dressed in a track suit from the 80's, wogging, going slow, not running far, whatever. If you run, you are a runner!