Running!

Hey everyone!

So today, while I was at the gym, I was thinking about how much I enjoy running and how it helps me to relieve stress and forget about all of the things on my plate for a while, so I figured I'd share some fun facts about running with all of you in case you didn't know!

First of all, running helps with depression. I know, I'm thinking the same thing - I bet the last thing a person who's feeling depressed would want to do is run, but it's been proven that your brain produces chemicals that help combat depression and anxiety, making you feel much more relaxed and in control after a good run. Who would've thought?

Running leads to good heart health. This shouldn't come as a huge shocker if you didn't already know, since running is a cardio-intensive activity that strengthens the muscle tissue in your heart, making it able to pump more blood and often increasing your life span as well.

Running is freeing! This isn't something I found anywhere online about running, but I know it for a fact from personal experience. Whenever I'm running, I can feel myself forgetting about all of my worries and feeling like I was a thousand miles away, on a whole different planet with no worries to be had. It's an exhilarating and liberating experience for sure, and there's nothing else like it.

This is my roommate Jesse and I after doing the Color Run in Vergennes - we ran over 8 miles!

Running with a friend can make it that much more enjoyable too - I've also registered for another color run coming to Vermont in the summer because I loved the experience so much!

I always go running outside if it's nice enough, but in the chilly winter months like these, I usually go to the indoor track in the Ross Sports Center. It was specifically built to make it easy to track how far you've run, and I find the repetition of the track and the feeling that you're actually moving (as opposed to using a treadmill) to be really calming and satisfying.

If you wanted to know more about the benefits of running, here's an article about it! And if you don't already run regularly and you're feeling stressed and overwhelmed often, why not give it a shot? I know I'll be putting in my miles for years to come!