Running with my girlfriends is better than therapy!

I started running the moment I retired from swimming in 1993. I have loved it from that first moment until now, for so many reasons. Obviously, I love the way it works my bod and I love the feeling of really sweating but it goes way beyond the physical.

At Stanford, there is a really easy, fun and fairly quick run called "the campus loop". It is about 4-5 miles, it is completely flat and it circles the Stanford campus(one of the most beautiful campuses on earth). I used to run this all the time with my bff Heidi. Thinking about those runs makes me smile as I am typing this. We would discuss EVERYTHING during our runs...school, guys, parties, gossip, basically just life! When we were finished, we loved the fact that we got a great workout but we felt REALLY good cause we had just had a serious "clearing of the head" session. Like therapy.

There is one thing I know for sure about me and running. I think more while I run. My mind works in overdrive. Sometimes, while I am by myself, I will stop and write myself an email so I don't forget all the things I had come up with on my run. I don't think I am alone in this. Many of my friends, beyond Heidi, love to chat and run...in that order.

Heidi is now living in LA and I don't get to run with her as often as needed. She will still call me every now and then while she is walking and we will have an awesome hour long conversation. But with 4 kids between the 2 of us, that doesn't happen often enough. I have some girlfriends in Park City who I run with that are great listeners and awesome chatters. I went out today with one of them and she let me go on and on about life and several things that are happening in my world. She was such a wonderful sounding board. Honestly, isn't that really what therapy is??

I love my running therapy sessions. They don't happen during every run but when they do, it is such a relief. Thank goodness for girlfriends. Thank goodness for my runs. Thank goodness for chatty girlfriends who like to run. If only therapists would read my blog...they might consider putting a treadmill in their office. Now there is an idea!