Running Outdoors

Finally! For those of us in the American Northeast, the weather has recently been holding true to the spring season. And you know what that means right? We can go for a run outside now! I had my first outdoor run on the trails yesterday and it felt surreal. I spent all winter long staring at the wall at my gym trying to find motivation in the 30th minute on the treadmill. Now the fresh air, songs of birds and bright sun are my motivation to make that last mile my fastest one. The constant humming of the treadmill mixed with the pounding of my feet in a sprint was ingrained in my mind for each winter indoor run. But now it is replaced by the sounds of splashing through puddles, crunching through piles of leaves and leaping over downed trees. No longer am I running in a straight line with the slightest variation in speed and slope. On the trails, I can kick up the pace on the uphill and give my run some variation to actually keep me motivated.

Has this thought ever run through anyone else’s head? Am I the only one that finds running indoors on a treadmill brutally painful? The only thing worse than it is running in the frigid cold. Even if you can manage to not slip on a rogue patch of ice your breath gets cut short by the freezing air and your face becomes numb. And, if you think getting all bundled up is going to help, you’re just going to be sweating uncontrollably when you kick it into a higher gear. Now it's April and the air is that perfect cool temperature which makes running outdoors truly enjoyable.

Going on a long distance run? You'll probably want to bring some food and water with you for a mid-run break and snack. What’s the perfect mid-run snack you ask? The RAW Nature’s Fuel Vanilla Peanut Butter bar is! It has the natural sugars to refuel you and the plant protein to rebuild your muscles. This bar has no chocolate on the surface or chips in it so it can survive the brutal trip in your pocket and still have that amazing taste!! The best part is that you can reclose your bag and get back to running so no excuses for a long break!! So what are you waiting for!? The weather is perfect now! No more excuses that it’s too cold, so get out there and get fit! And remember to use RAW Nature’s Fuel Bars to “Fuel the Body & Calm the Crave.”