wednesdays are supposed to be dedicated to cross training and i'm aiming to try something new every week to find another thing i love in addition to running.
but when i realized that national running day fell on a wednesday, i knew i had to run. it's my first running day since i started this whole running journey, so i really wanted to "celebrate." thus, i did a little shifting around in my schedule so that i'll cross train on friday and run today.
i decided i would try to make up my seven mile training run that was cut short due to heat on sunday, which technically would fill the "try something new" quota, since seven miles is the longest i've ever ran. but that didn't quite feel like enough, since i'm definitely going to do it again.
enter charity miles. this app was featured on the national running day website, and i was instantly intrigued. basically, all you have to do is download the free app to your smartphone and create a profile. before every run or walk you do, open up the app and choose the charity you want to donate your miles to that day. they have a bunch of charities to choose from, but i was drawn to the aspca, as i usually am.
i started the app, my itunes, and my garmin, and then set off on my run. i knew i wanted to take this run easy, since seven miles in the middle of my week definitely threw recovery off, and i didn't want to tire myself out for the rest of the week. but knowing that i was donating to the aspca definitely encouraged me to keep going for all seven miles, even if it meant slowing down a bit. as for doing seven miles for the first time, it wasn't awful, but i started getting a bit sore in the last half mile, which makes sense since my body is used to being done after a 10k. but i did it!
once i was done with the run, i turned off my garmin but kept the charity miles app running for the short walk home; hey, every little bit helps! when i was home, i hit finish, and it gave me a cute little end report.
i helped the puppies and kitties with 7.31 miles!
so would i try charity miles again? yes.
it's so easy, can run while other apps are going on my phone, and it helps worthy causes, even if only a little.it's a no-brainer for me.
