Running: The Five Ws

I read BarefootTC's post and found it interesting so I'm shamelessly steeling the idea.  Thank you!

Who do you run with?  In the winter, I'm running by myself and it's been somewhat miserable.  Shout out here to the St Paul running girls, Lucinda, and my Running Neighbor.  I miss you all.  I hope the weather changes and you stay healthy so we can all be friends again soon.

What distance do you run?  This year I've publicly promised not to do a marathon.  The races I'm looking at this year are in the 10 to 15 mile distance.  I'm signed up for the Trail Mix 25K and the Loony Challenge which includes a 10 mile race.  I'm also keeping my eye on The Trail Loppet, Surf the Murph 25K, and the Minneapolis Half Marathon. 

Where do you run?  I run on the roads, and am very lucky to live in a place with so many protected pedestrian paths.  One of my goals this year is to do more trail running.  I haven't done any yet, but I've done lots of snow and yak track running.  In the winter I've also been running on the indoor track much more, which has been a surprising evolution.

When do  you usually like to run?  I am a morning runner.  It's always better to get up and get after it for me.  That way when it's done I can come home and take a long nap.

Why do yo run?  It keeps me feeling good in many ways. I really appreciate the time outdoors (and missing it like crazy this winter), the time to myself, the time spent with friends.  I also notice I'm able to be a nicer person when I run a lot, and that seems like a good reason to keep going.

How did you get into running?  One day in 2006, the Qat Lady registered for a 5K and showed me this "Couch Potato Training Plan" (also knows as Couch to 5K.)  It looked like fun so I asked if I could do it to and then we could run together on race day.  We did most of our training separately.  I'd run a few other times in my life and had a particularly easy time getting back into it with this training program.  It really just stuck for me.  It's been less important to Qat Lady over time, but she still comes to cheer me on when I run, so it's still a part of our friendship.