You daily running route

Fuzzuki · Postby **Fuzzuki** » Sat Sep 12, 2015 5:23 pm

I seem to be taking exactly the exact route I do every day at just about the same time of day.

Do most of you also do the same route, every day?

I am new to jogging. I would like to know a little more about what most people do.

My Samsung Gear is telling me I am running at 10.2 kph.
This is pretty slow?

No?

Postby **ultraslacker** » Sat Sep 12, 2015 5:42 pm

Slow is relative. What matters is what works for you.

I get very bored of running the same routes so I rarely do the same one two runs in a row. Mixing it up is more fun mentally and more challenging physically.

Welcome to RM!

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Dstew · Postby **Dstew** » Sat Sep 12, 2015 6:29 pm

My advice, do what works for you that makes running a habit and so you do it on a consistent basis.

I prefer running as many different routes as I can find but the other day, did laps around two soccer pitches and quite enjoyed being able to turn my brain off. Some will only run on tracks. I know of one guy who trained and qualified for the Boston marathon by doing most of his running on a treadmill. Others do most of their running on trails, other pathways and others on the road. There is no right answer, again, only the one that gets you out and running on a regular basis.

Fuzzuki · Postby **Fuzzuki** » Sun Sep 13, 2015 6:57 am

I am just starting out. That's why I keep to the same route. It helps me to gauge my fitness level. A few days I felt really good, and explored past my normal limits.
It felt good, but I was worried about the walk of shame, if I ran out of steam far from my house.

When I was younger, I lived in places that I could run, cross country. That is where my heart really is. I enjoy being out in nature when I run.
Now I am stuck in the concrete jungle. So I am forced to run in the neighbourhood.

I was wondering about the same route, because I often see the exact same people jogging on my regular route.

Jwolf · Postby **Jwolf** » Sun Sep 13, 2015 9:09 am

I like to mix it up- I have a few routes I do from my house depending on the distance, but also sometimes run from work, my gym, or other places in town.

Sometimes I run with friends but I mostly run alone. I don't really notice the same people in my neighbourhood and I don't really care who notices me. There's nothing wrong with walking at the end of a run and no one will know when they see you that you didn't plan it- so nothing shameful about that. Do what you enjoy.

But in order to improve your running you will have to push out of your comfort zone either in distance or speed, but not necessary every run.

Miss*Smiles · Postby **Miss*Smiles** » Sun Sep 13, 2015 10:46 am

When I run alone in the dark early morning hours I take the same route (and my DH knows what route and when I'm coming back). If I'm running when it's daylight out I'll switch it up.

scrumhalfgirl · Postby **scrumhalfgirl** » Mon Sep 14, 2015 3:05 pm

I have a few different paths I run on and I vary the distance by changing the turn around or looping points. In my old neighbourhood I was on residential streets and I had loops of different distances and one favourite out and back that could range from 4-8 km depending on where I turned. I do tend to see the same people out and about, though at various spots depending on when we leave the house, how far I'm going etc.

daddy_runner · Postby **daddy_runner** » Tue Sep 15, 2015 2:38 pm

I mostly run during my lunch hour from work. I have a few different routes that I can choose from, and sometimes I just wing it and explore a direction or street I've never run before. It really all depends upon the goal of my run: If it's an easy run, then I'm more likely to explore since getting lost or going a bit short (or long!) isn't going to affect me much.

Avis · Postby **Avis** » Tue Sep 15, 2015 3:18 pm

First, welcome to RM!

I understand you're not wanting to get stranded far from home because you ran out of steam, I used to worry about that, too. Now, I often walk at the beginning and ends of my run, and that's fine.

I have a few routes that I run routinely, but I switch among them each day. When I was a beginning runner, I did have a set loop that I did, but I added to it and gradually pushed my comfort zone outwards. So, at first, I was only running around the backyard. Then it was around one block, then a double block, then a triple block with the route being in the shape of a clover leaf. I grew from there. You can even change the direction of your route to change it a little--clockwise to counter-clockwise.

Don't worry about this, as others have said, whatever gets you out there regularly is good at this point. As you become more confident in your running, you'll find you're more comfortable with exploring new routes.

Joe Dwarf · Postby **Joe Dwarf** » Tue Sep 15, 2015 3:28 pm

One of the things that helped me vary my routes was getting a GPS watch. I was/am quite anal retentive about tracking my runs, so before the watch I would stick to a few planned routes of known length. Now if I feel like taking a different route, I just go for it and my watch lets me know how far I've run. If I need to run a particular distance, a little mental math and the watch usually gets me home pretty close to the target.

Fuzzuki · Postby **Fuzzuki** » Wed Sep 16, 2015 8:41 pm

Thanks everybody. These words really help out a beginner.

NMG · Postby **NMG** » Wed Sep 16, 2015 9:24 pm

I have one route that I run allot and it's roughly an 8K out and back (4K out and 4K back). I like it because I can start running 30 yards out my front door and it's a nice distance for my after work runs. Roughly the first KM is on the road and the rest is trail. The nice thing about that route is that it also connects up to a larger trail network, so I can turn that 8K run into a 10-12K run really easily. If I want to go longer on weekends, then I could go 20K or more, all on interconnected trail networks that feed into or off of that "standard" route. It's very flexible.

For roads, I also tend to stay in my neighbourhood. I have a standard 5K loop right near my house that I use, but I can also just extend it out and do bigger loops that are anywhere from 10K to 16K. If I want to go longer than that on roads, I'll typically drive into town and run along the canal or other scenic pathways.

I'd hazard a guess than 70-80% of my KMs are spread out amongst 3-4 main routes that I enjoy. I'd suggest just trying different stuff until you find routes that work for you. It could be a certain type of terrain, certain scenery or even routes that just work with your pace and/or distance you are trying to cover. Experiment and have fun!