Efficient Exercise

OK, now that we've talked about walking, and how much I love it, it's time to move on.

There's a pattern here, if you haven't noticed. Bike riding was Accidental Exercise ... fun, fast and not so strenuous if you don't want it to be and killer when you do. Walking is Accessible Exercise ... everyone can do it. Can you guess what Efficient Exercise is?

Yup, running.

I love running for many of the same reasons I love walking ... no equipment required, it's just me trying to best myself, it can be done inside or outside. All true.

But I love running mostly because it takes less time than walking! And way less time than biking.

It sounds so simple. But it's so true. When you don't have a lot of time and you want to burn a bunch of calories quickly, running is the only way to go, in my book.

Running can be a nice, slow jog. You can turn up the speed or the incline when you're ready. You can run for as long as your lungs allow, then slow down to a walk, and fire back up when you've caught your breath. It's just infinitely adjustable. Customizeable, if you will.

And I really love the end of the run. When I'm gasping for breath, a sheen of sweat covering every square inch of me, with more running down my legs. My muscles are snapping and popping and bursting with life and I feel invincible.

And I'm not going to lie. It's also so much fun to slip things like this in conversation, "I ran X miles yesterday."