"Would You Rather..." #Running Survey: My Answers

Inspiration is everywhere and it's wise of you to seek it out. Me, I find a lot of mine in the fitness community. Particularly the online fitness community. There are A TON of blogs out there worth reading. I couldn't possibly read them all which is unfortunate, but I do check out as many of them as I can. Most recently, I discovered Olive to Run. Cori puts out a "Would You Rather..." survey with questions that revolve around running. I thought I'd participate in her seventh round. Here goes:

1) Would you rather run in a thunderstorm or a snowstorm?
I live just off the shores of Lake Michigan. While I enjoy running in the snow, it gets damn cold in these parts during legitimate snow storms. I have, however, gone on some awesome trail runs in the dunes. Super tough, incredibly beautiful.

But I love me some rainstorm running even more.

I mean, as long as there isn't lightening. There's something so incredibly refreshing about raindrops.

2) Would you rather breathe through your nose or breathe through your mouth?
I'm a mouth breather when I run. A lot of people have a legitimate pattern for their breathing, like...so many breaths per step or whatever...but me, I just relax into it. If I try to control my breathing too much, I feel like I'm going to hyperventilate which ultimately kills my momentum.

3) Would you rather do 100 squats or 100 crunches?
Honestly, I'm not a big fan of classic crunches. I prefer to work my core in other, more creative ways. So I choose squats. I love squats...prisoner squats, goblet squats. Squats with a medicine ball. Oh, so many ways to squat!

4) Would you rather have a baked good for dessert or an extra serving of your favorite entree?
Of course it's the food question that trips me up. I have a massive sweet tooth, but when dinner is good...dinner is good. So I'll go with the entree.

5) Would you rather run on a treadmill for an hour or run around the same street block for an hour? 
Street block, hands down. I get ADD on the treadmill. I feel like I'm stuck in an unchanging world when I'm on the treadmill, even if I can watch TV. The street block changes...I'd rather watch the flowers grow and the bees play or the leaves blow. Or the waves roll in:

Even at the gym, I choose to run our short indoor track. It takes 14 laps to run a mile, and those 14 laps are so much better than the treadmill.

6) Would you rather have a headache during a run or a side stitch?
Side stitch. They're much easier to get rid of. When I get a headache, I feel like a sledgehammer is attacking my skull every time I take a step.

7) Would you rather have a rest day on a work day or a day off?
When I was working full time at the advertising agency, I would have said chosen a work day. I would wake up early to hit the gym, or I'd go right after work. On rest days, I didn't have to do either of those things. Nothing beat sleeping in or being able to go straight home after work to do nothing. But now, since I work at a gym, I can't honestly say that I have a preference.

8) Would you rather be a race director or a race volunteer? 
I think it would be so much fun to plan a race. Hectic, crazy and stressful...but incredibly fun. And that's the advertising background coming out of me. Oh, the ideas! I'd have so much fun planning the race itself, the after party. And the medals. Yes, the medals.

9) Would you rather spend your money on running gadgets or running shoes? 

A girl can never have too many shoes. Especially if that girl is a fitness professional. I mean, I used to buy fancy shoes to wear with my dress pants. Now I buy fitness shoes to wear with my compression pants and running skirts. And when it comes to shoes, I love trying all the brands. As for gadgets? I have my iPhone and a heart rate monitor. If either one of those dies, I'll fork out the moolah. But it'll always be the shoe department for me.

10) Would you rather run in a relay or do the run portion of a distance triathlon?
I have no hope whatsoever of ever completing a triathlon, so I'd rather do the run portion of a distance triathlon to enjoy the experience with friends in team form. Unless it's a full Ironman. If I'm running a marathon, it's going to be on my own and at Disney or in Hawaii. But, honestly, I'm more of a half marathon girl. And honestly, I'd have just as much fun doing the relay. So basically, I'm not really giving you an legit answer to this question, eh?

Fun, right?

Head on over to Olive to Run to read Cori's survey answers. She also hosts a linkup, where you can find other bloggers who are participating. Now, it's your turn:

Question: Would you rather run in a relay or do the run portion of a distance triathlon?