Would You Rather? Runner Edition

It's Friday!!

I was supposed to do my long run this morning, but instead I woke up with a splitting headache. And I hadn't even had the fun night out Thursday night to earn the headache! Not fair. Also... when did running become so complicated?

Whenever I'm running early, I lay everything out the night before. If it's a long run, that ends up being quite a lot of stuff...

Anyway, I'm still not feeling great, so we'll see how the long run plan shapes up. For now I wanted to share this running quiz with you all! I clicked over to a commenter's blog and saw it there. Thanks for the inspiration, Madison! (Originally created by Olive to Run). I thought the quiz was really fun, and I'd love for you to respond to the questions as well in the comments!

1. Would you rather run a 5k or a marathon?
I haven't run a marathon yet so I'm not sure! However, I will say that so far, I love training for the marathon, and I love how much effort you have to put in. In a lot of ways, I think it makes the marathon feel more worthwhile.

But with that said, if you have a bad 5K, it's not a big deal, right? You can easily brush it off. As someone who had not-so-great half marathon experiences multiple times, I have to say, it sucks! When you've spent weeks training for a race, a poor race performance feels like much more of a disappointment. I can only imagine how that would feel if it were for a marathon!

So.... I still don't have an answer. For now, 5K, since I haven't run a marathon yet!

2. Would you rather run in the heat of summer or the icy winter?
Icy winter fo' sho'. Sure, it's not that pleasant, but compared to humidity? I'll take the cold every time. And when it's REALLY icy and cold I can just go run on the treadmill in my building. In the summer, even the treadmill is unpleasant since it's hot in the gym as well and humidity seeps everywhere. 

3. Would you rather have new running shoes or a new running outfit?
Definitely a new running outfit! I tend to go with the shoes that I know work for me, so while I get excited about shoes in that "I'm going to put sooo many miles on you!" kind of way, a new outfit is more fun.

4. Would you rather run alone or in a group?
Nine times out of ten, I'd rather run with friends in a group. I'm always shocked by how quickly miles tick by! I trained for my first half marathon by myself and runs could be a bit of a slog when it was two hours with myself. One time I even called my parents and chatted with them while I ran so I wouldn't feel so bored! I love running with friends and it's made running even more fun. But occasionally, I still like to run alone -- a good therapy run is required at times.

5. Would you rather run next to someone in a race who tries to talk to you constantly or someone who breathes heavy and grunts?

Haha! I love this question. Definitely someone who breathes heavy and grunts because that would be entertaining. I'd feel rude not talking to someone trying to talk to me, but I'm not really a race talker, so that would just be annoying.

6. Would you rather run a race because of the convenience (location, price, travel) or the swag?
Neither - I don't really care about race swag, and I think traveling to cool new places for races is awesome. However, if I could roll out of bed at 7:30 AM and get to the start line at 7:45 for an 8:00 AM race, that would be sweet.

7. Would you rather run a race with a group of friends or by yourself?
Probably by myself, unless my friend was pacing me and I didn't feel like I needed to be social, just to keep up. I tend not to want to talk during races, besides the occasional "that was a tough hill" or "woo almost done!"

8. Would you rather run a PR but result in an injury or finish strong and missing a PR?
I'd rather run a PR and have an injury that has me out for like 2 weeks, but if it's a serious injury then I'd definitely rather miss the PR and finish strong and healthy. No PR is worth a broken bone or torn muscle!!

9. Would you rather eat a big meal the night before or a big meal after a race?
Big meal after the race! I hate feeling heavy when I run and celebrating post-race with friends is half the fun. 

10. Would you rather be chased by a swarm of bees or a pack of dogs?
Is this, like, a vicious pack of dogs? Or just playful dogs? I love dogs, but if I'm about to get attacked, definitely bees > dogs. 


So -- what are your answers?? 5K or marathon? PR and injury or finish strong? Race with friends or alone?