I was originally going to call this my winter running tips, but as I sat down to write these out, I realized I use a majority of them all the time! So running. Loved by some people, hated by others. I’m in the love category. I grew up running, or at least, watching my two older brothers run on the cross country team. As soon as I was old enough, I joined and was the only girl on the cross country team back in 7thgrade. I ended up having to quit after one season because it coincided with the volleyball season, but it was so much fun being on that team with my brothers. I wish I could go back to those early Saturday mornings! Cross country races were fun because everyone gathers there, and if you’re doing a 5K, it doesn’t last that long. We’d go to their races, they’d run 20 minutes or less, and the only thing we had to wait for was the rest of the schools and the award ceremony. In and out before lunch. But anyways, pulling away from the nostalgia I feel when running, yes, I love to run, and it was fun going to college and reigniting that love with all the free time that I had. However, running is totally different compared to guys and girls. Guys don’t have to worry about their surroundings as much as girls do. It sucks, but it’s true.
It’s so much easier for a guy to go out for a run at night then girls. I love running at night, but my Mom would freak if she knew I was out running in the dark. Luckily in college, I was living in a great neighborhood with great people, so when I wanted to go out for a 9 PM run, I could. Anywhere else, it was deemed “unsafe.” Sure we have things like pepper spray and can run with smart watches, but still, men don’t have to think about their safety like when going for a run, but women do. I’ve always been envious of that. It’s just one thing that a guy doesn’t have to think twice about, but sometimes that’s all that a woman can think of if she’s having to do things by herself, or maybe that’s just me?! Well, before I go off on another tangent about how much harder it is for women than men, I think I’ll get to the point of this post! I love running as mentioned, and I thought I’d share some of my running tips that I’ve accumulated over the past couple of years!
#1 Where Something Noticeable
This tip may seem like an obvious one, but I always want to wear something bright when running to ensure that drivers and anyone else can see me without difficulty. I usually like to wear brighter tops if I can, and it works out well that I have bright shoes to wear, so in case the rest of my attire doesn’t stand out, my shoes do.
#2 Tell Someone Where You Are Going
Safety is something that’s very important to me and what my mother instilled in me. Although I’m 5’11 and I don’t think anyone or anything is gonna mess with me, I just like to be cautious and proactive because you just never know what can happen. I always like to text someone like my Mom or my brother to let them know where I am. I just say that I’m going out for a run for 20 to 30 minutes to give them a specific time frame of how long I’ll be in case anything happens. As soon as I get back, I text them that I’m back safely!
#3 Get Those Muscles Warmed Up
Ever since high school, I’ve had tendonitis in my knees. Being a year round athlete playing basketball and volleyball with rarely any breaks didn’t help it either, because that’s why I got tendonitis to begin with! Usually the pain comes from jumping for most people, but in my case, every time I ran in the winter my patella tendon on both knees would hurt until I got warmed up. I’m nothing like those people that can wear shorts in the winter. If you have ever ran or went to a 5K race around this time of year, you know exactly what people I’m talking about!!! So it’s crucial for me to be able to warm up with exercises like high knees and wear leggings that give that necessary compression to lessen my knee pain if it ever comes, which it usually does when it’s cold.
#4 Run Opposite of Cars
When running on a road, I always recommend running on the left side of the road. It’s a natural instinct to stay on the side of the right lane because that is the way we drive, but when you do that, you aren’t seeing the cars coming up behind you. At least when you are on the left side, you can look forward and easily see a car coming towards you and adjust accordingly. Car too close for comfort on the road? Just venture off on the side of the road a little bit more. However, if you are running alongside the car on the right, there could be a car behind you and you have no idea how much room that car is willing to give you, or if they even see you.
#5 Be Aware of Your Surroundings and Use Your Senses
When I run, I always like to have all of my senses alert and ready to see if there’s anything out of the ordinary. I know most people like to run with headphones, but I just can’t do that when running outside. I like to be able to hear if a car is coming if I’m running out on the road, or if there’s footsteps coming up behind me along a path. I want to know and see the people around me. I’m a really observant person (I get it from my Momma) and I’m just the type of person that has to know and be aware of everything that’s going on around me. Sometimes if I’m out running, I like to count the amount of cars that I see so I can make sure I haven’t seen a car twice in a row, because that’s a little suspicious to me. I’m a paranoid person I can’t help it! You just never know what can happen.
#6 Chap Stick and Chapped Lips
There’s nothing that I hate more than getting 5 minutes into my run and realizing I never put any chap stick on. I lick my lips, and somehow they just get drier than before! It’s the worst. I always like using Vaseline because it always lasts longer than typical chap sticks when I’m out on a run.
#7 Stretch
Last but not least, stretching is key for me after going for a run. Your muscles are all warm and loosened up, so it’s essential to cool down and stretch! Ever since I started doing more yoga, I’ve implemented some of those moves after my runs and I really feel like they are helping me. Yoga with Adriene on YouTube is the absolute best in my opinion, and she even has a yoga post run practice that I like to do from time to time.
And that’s all of my tips from what I like to wear to what I like to do to stay safe. Like I said, I’m a very cautious person. You can tell yourself that crazy things won’t happen to you, but isn’t that what everyone is telling themselves? What would make you special so that it wouldn’t? You can never predict what will and won’t happen to you, and I always try to make the necessary steps to ensure that I’m prepared if it does. I may be paranoid, but I’d rather be paranoid and aware of my surroundings then unaware and unprepared. I hope these tips help and inspire you to take in your surroundings more! Thanks for stopping by today, hope you have a great one!!