Reflecting on myths about running

I haven't been running yet today but it is absolutely wonderful out.  Not too hot, not too cold -- well, maybe a little too hot, but it's 3PM right now.  I plan to wait until around 7PM, then go.  Actually, I really plan to wait until after the Yankees/Red Sox game, so knowing them, that might be closer to 8PM.

As I was going around Boston today, I got thinking about two common runner myths:

1) You get to eat whatever you want;
2) Running costs basically nothing!

#1: Ha!  I wish.  Of course you don't!  Well, I guess you could eat whatever you wanted, but I mean you could do that whether you ran or not.  The end result would be the same: you would get fat.  Running does burn calories, but not enough for you to be able to eat whatever you feel like.  For health reasons, I also try to stay away from foods that will spike my blood sugar levels, such as white flour, white sugar, and (tragedy) dried fruit. 

It makes sense that when you run, you want to be as tiny as possible so as not to strain your joints and so that there is less weight to carry.  As a result, it's better to watch what you eat.  I find that I've been away from 'bad' food long enough that I don't usually crave it anymore.  There are a few exceptions, like pizza, which is essentially my kryptonite.  In general, though, it is better to watch what you eat regardless of how much physical activity you do.

Because I've been traveling a lot this summer, it has been a challenge to eat well.  Sure, you could just eat salads all the time, but those aren't always healthy depending on the dressings.  My ideal solution is to be in a place where I can easily buy food from a supermarket or something similar.  For instance, I was in London (England...in case you are from Southern Ontario...) and was near to a Sainsbury's and a Marks and Spencer.  Both had lots of good options for portable meals that were healthy.  Right now, I'm very close to a Whole Foods and a Trader Joe's.  Sure, Whole Foods may be expensive, but it's still cheaper than dining out all of the time, plus you know what's in your food.  I also brought with me a set of utensils (plastic) and a tacky, plastic plate that is very resilient; I purchased both of these when I was in England.  Someday, I hope to craft some kind of container that is amenable to traveling for these items...but truth be told, I am not that crafty, and it's really not that hard to fit a set of plastic utensils and a plate in your suitcase.

#2: I mean, I guess running could cost almost nothing, apart from the fact that you pretty much need to buy shoes every 6 months or so (and you don't want to skimp too much because you can get injured).  But I'm curious to know who can resist all of the running-related things out there.  I put them into two categories: gear and toys.  Gear is anything that you wear in the hopes of improving your running.  Toys are anything gadget-like that you hope will improve your running.  In general, I am quite good about staying away from both gear and toys; the only real toy I have is my phone and the holder that I use when I take it with me so that I can track mileage.  Before I started doing that, I guess I had an Ironman watch that could, theoretically, qualify as a toy.  That was it. 

With gear, I am also pretty good, but it gets harder to resist.  One item I definitely wanted while in Boston was a visor that wicks sweat (NB: almost anything associated with gear for runners involves wicking).  Being a running town, Boston is also a running-stuff town, and there are several places where one can stock up easily.  Today I went to City Sports.  The nearest City Sports to me in Florida is a whole state away in Atlanta, GA and I think that this is a good thing.  It's got so much gear that I think it would be hard not to indulge on a regular basis if there were one closer (there are running-specific stores in Tampa, just not ones that are all that convenient to me).  Today I went to the one with the outlet as well, where I got two pairs of honest-to-goodness geary shorts that, naturally, wick sweat -- a big upgrade from my current shorts, which all came from Target.  At one point, I was close to getting three other pairs, but none of them was very flattering so I changed my mind.  Somehow, I stayed away from the gear Red Sox shorts.  And I did wind up getting my visor too.

There are many, many more items of gear/toys that I want, but it is true that you don't need gear/toys to run, I suppose...

(Another toy I want is one of those foam roller things that you can use to help stretch.  And some gear shirts.  And more shorts.  And new running shoes.  I think that's all.  Okay, maybe a pouch thing for carrying gels/water).