Just Another Running Survey

Happy Super Bowl Sunday! As I sit here watching the game, it's hard for me to believe that all of this is happening in my own city. A mere 10-minute drive from my apartment, in fact. Though I didn't do much of the Super Week activities, I've heard that Houston has done a fantastic job with everything. And though the traffic this week has been a bear, I am so proud of my city and it is my greatest hope that those visiting have enjoyed all that Houston has to offer. And while I would love to see the Falcons get the W tonight, I'm really just hoping for a good game. I have loved watching all of the lead-up events, and I have loved hearing all of the athletes' stories. Ultimately, they're playing the game they love on the game's biggest stage, and I can only imagine how great of a feeling that must be. 

(Source)

And, today also happens to be my 25th birthday! I actually have such a great quarter-life crisis post to share with you guys, but I couldn't quite get my act together this week or this weekend. And because I am not going to give it the attention it deserves as I watch the game, I am going to share yet another running survey with you guys, and plan on sharing my 25th post sometime in these next couple of weeks. Sometimes, life catches up with you, you know?

I have had a wonderful birthday weekend, though, and I really am so thankful for all of the incredible people I've got in my life. Call me self-centered, but I love birthdays because it is such a sweet reminder of that. Every call, text, card, and Facebook post truly means the world to me, and I'm ready to start year 25 with a bang!

But first, a survey!

1. Would you rather run in a thunderstorm or a snowstorm? 

I am such a cold weather wimp, so I would much rather run through a thunderstorm. Ideally, it would just be a torrential downpour, sans the thunder and lightning, but I wouldn’t even know where to begin if I had to race in a snowstorm.

Post-torrential downpour

2. Would you rather breathe through your nose or breathe through your mouth? 

I hate hearing myself breathe, so I would much rather breathe through my nose. Breathing through my mouth makes me super thirsty, anyway. I will occasionally breathe out of my mouth, but I try not to breathe in through it.

3. Would you rather do 100 squats or 100 crunches?

Honestly, I would gladly do either. I love (bodyweight) squats, and I really enjoy the feeling that comes with a good core workout.

4. Would you rather have a baked good for dessert or an extra serving of your favorite entrée?

This may surprise some of you, but I’m going to go with an extra serving of my favorite entrée. When it comes to dessert, I really only get excited for dark chocolate. Or frozen yogurt, obviously.

But I'll gladly eat two burgers

5. Would you rather run on a treadmill for an hour or run around the same street block for an hour? 

Oh MAN, this is a tough question because both of these can get pretty dang boring. I will always choose to run outside over running on the treadmill if at all possible, though, so I guess I’d go with the same street block. If it’s speed or tempo work. If it’s just an easy run day, I might find a good television show to watch on the treadmill and just get lost in that same speed.

Is this view an option?

6. Would you rather have a headache during a run or a side stitch? 

A side stitch. Although they are arguably the worst, I don’t deal with headaches very well, and there’s no way that I could run through that. I’m lucky that I don’t have to deal with headaches very often, so when I do get them, running is about the last thing on my mind. And I’ve semi-learned how to deal with a side stitch.

7. Would you rather have a rest day on a work day or a day off? 

On a work day, for sure. You know those super exhausting work days where you can’t even fathom lacing up your running shoes and hitting the pavement? I mean, that’s pretty much every day in the life of a teacher, but I would feel so lazy if I just didn’t do anything on a day off!

8. Would you rather be a race director or a race volunteer? 

While I think it would be the most stressful job in the world, I think I would enjoy the challenge that comes along with directing a race. Though volunteers are truly the heart and soul of the race, so, I would do either.

Though I'm not sure I would want to tackle directing the Chevron Houston Marathon

9. Would you rather spend your money on running gadgets [HRM, GPS watch, headphones] or running shoes? 

While I love running gadgets, I will always go for a new pair of running shoes. It’s so important to have the right pair of shoes, and I go through them at an alarming rate. Plus, once you have the gadgets, you don’t tend to have to replace them for a while.

10. Would you rather run in a relay or do the run portion of a distance triathlon? 

Actually, I’m doing my first half marathon relay in a couple of weeks with one of my teaching buddies, and I’m pretty excited about it. I also think I would rather do the swim portion of a distance triathlon. But that’s just me. 

Pre-70.3 swim

And with that, I'm off to enjoy the rest of the game. Falcons starting off strong! But you can never count out Tom Brady.