Posted at The Loop, the blogs at Runner’sWorld.com
There’s this really great running trail in Shoreline, the Interurban, blacktop paved, wide, well maintained, with pedestrian bridges over a major intersection. I end up running along it three or four times a week, depending. Going south to north it’s a very gentle climb, making it easy to run both ways. But for some reason, I can only ever run it one way at a time.
I really despise out-and-back routes, and I’m not even sure why. The Interurban would be great for an out-and-back, but I end up taking sides streets for half the run, in order to create a loop, and this despite some pretty tough hills along those side streets. If I’m feeling creative, I’ll run up the Interurban, switch to a side street, then come back on the Interurban to the point I was on it before, then switch to another side street, creating a kind of figure-eight loop.
And although I said I’m not sure why I can’t bring myself to do out-and-backs, I have my suspicions. I think it might have something to do with GPS mapping—I have one of those Nike+ watches, and I love looking at the maps of my runs after I’m done, especially on a brand-new route. But if I’m going out for a 5 miler, and I’ll end up on a loop I’ve run dozens of times. So why should the map matter?
I can recall, five years ago when I started running, I ran for time, not for distance—the goal was, for example, to run for 30 minutes, and I always ran an out-and-back: 15 minutes out, 15 minutes back (20 back if I pushed too hard on the first half). But then I switched to mileage goals, and I’d create routes using an online mapping tool. Some of the tools would get wonky if I tried to create a way-point on a street that already had a route marked on it. That’s my excuse.
I’m writing this to see if you commiserate. Does anyone else had out-and-backs like I do? Just today, as I was heading home on the last half mile, I avoid a blind intersection by taking a side street, which put me on a street I had already run today for all of one block. And I cringed the whole time. Anyone else suffering from this ridiculous psychosis?