Running Scientist

Living in Minneapolis, the 2nd fittest city in the US, changed my habits. I wasn't a total couch potato when I lived in Dallas or in my college years back in Turkey, but I wasn't very fit either.

I did some running in Dallas, but never more than about 2 miles. Last November, I restarted here in Minneapolis, mainly because I needed a distraction from the lab. Of course with 25F (-4C) average temperature, all this running had to be done in the gym, on a treadmill. The treadmill got me from about 3 miles at 5mph to 6 miles at 5.5mph in about 4 months. (and I can tell you all this, because I am a scientist and I record everything!) Then, I got injured.

My friends, who were seasoned runners, warned me about treadmills and how they might affect my joints, but I guess I had to find out myself. After doing a 10K on the treadmill, my right knee started hurt. So, I took a few days off and switched to running on track.

Setting the speed was hard at first. I ran too fast and got tired quick, but after a few days I learned to control myself and kept training on the track for 2 months. In April I was able to run up to 8 miles at around 9:30 min/mile. A track related injury (running in circles is not good for your knee either, apparently) and warm weather (spring is beautiful in this city) pushed me to make the final move: Road running.

First it was just the weekly long runs around the U of M campus, but now I am running 4 days a week by the river, from Dinkytown Trail to Ford Parkway (obviously I don't run that whole loop every time).

I wasn't going to do it this season, but I somehow found myself signing up for the Twin Cities Marathon in October. So, if you are interested in what a first time marathoner goes through, keep following the blog.

And, in case you are wondering how Minneapolis-St.Paul became the second fittest metro area, just take a walk by the river on a Saturday morning. Runners outnumber cars at least 10 to 1.