Developing ways to "recharge my battery"

Through the first half of high school, I ran cross country, so running was an obligation rather than something that I actually wanted to be doing. One of the reasons that I left the team was because I didn't enjoy the drudgery of knowing that I had to run every day. After I left the team, running became occasional, something that I did when I wanted to. As I transitioned to college, running often was set on the back burner because I just had too many other things that I needed and wanted to do.

This semester I have already been excessively busy and so I hadn't run at all for the first several weeks that I was here. Finally one Sunday night I had the opportunity to go running with a friend and it turned out to be much more enjoyable than I had remembered, even though I was dreadfully out of shape. This opportunity was refreshing, a chance to spend some time with a friend just chatting because you can't talk about anything too serious while you are out of breath. Plus, exercise is never a bad thing; it's good for your physical health and I believe it is also beneficial for your mental health. I think that it raises self-esteem and regardless of my workload, I always feel more relaxed when I return from a run. So this semester I will make a conscious effort to run more consistently (for me, more consistently means maybe once a week).

9/9	3 miles	With one friend
9/19	5 miles	With one friend
9/22	3 miles	With a bunch of friends
9/29	5 miles	Just me
10/6	4.5 miles	With one friend
10/17	3 miles	Just me
10/20	5 miles	With one friend
10/27	3.5 miles	With one friend