Running: My Stress Reliever

Many people bash running, because they think it is extremely boring or too much work. One thing I have found about running is that it provides me with a time for myself. I can go out on a run and not have a care in the world and be away from everyone including my family. Sometimes it is nice to not have to constantly be around people and have time to actually hear your own thoughts. Running provides me with alone time to listen to music, think about life, and forget all my worries.

One thing that is great about going on runs is that you control your pace. No one is next to you from the track team, or just one of your friends that want to speed it up or slow it down. If you all of a sudden aren't feeling like running, you can walk. If you want to run as fast as you can, you can do that too. No one is next to you trying to have a conversation that you're simply not interested in. I'm sorry, but some days I do not feel like talking to anyone. I don't mind listening to conversations, but when I run I am running to be with myself. Track is a different story though.

During track season I dread going out to run most days, because I don't like to think of running as an assignment. Your coach says you must run a certain distance or keep a certain pace for a certain amount of time. I'm a runner that just likes to go out and run for fun. This gets rid of my stress and gives me something to work on alone. Track is great and truly pushes you to the limits, but I guess I am more interested in running just to run.

I encourage everyone to try running in your free time to see if it can be a stress reliever for yourself as well. If not, at least you tried it. I think every person needs to find one thing that provides comfort and calms them down when they are not having a great day. Everyone needs something to fall back on when times get hard. Finding this stress reliever will be extremely beneficial and help you not be so overwhelmed. There are many things that help get people's minds off of work, school, sports, etc. This might include running, knitting, cooking, reading, lifting, listening to music, or watching television. Each person has something they love to do in their free time and this can become your escape from reality.