"Runner-y"

Runner-y /ˈrənərē/ (adjective): characterized by doing or buying something that relates to running.

Let's admit it.  Being a runner is a mindset.  Oftentimes, people say that the word runner is synonymous with jogger. But frankly, if someone called me a jogger, I'd be offended. In the past, I've told people not to sell themselves short when they've called themselves joggers.  Runners are people who factor running into their lives.  It may not be daily, but they make a concentrated effort to run.  Joggers are people who go out once a month, semester, year - there's no effort to make it a lifestyle. 

But it's not only about the frequency, it's also about how you support and think about this habit. I think it can be as simple as buying a new sports bra or new running shoes, putting a new song on your running playlist to motivate you, setting a goal and sticking to it, being anxious to get through something so you can get to your run, or adding distance to your planned run just because it felt right in the moment.  It can be as complicated changing your diet so you feel stronger on your runs or changing your daily routine so you can fit a run in, even if it means waking up at 4 am. Or as emotional as "feeling" the race (with sweaty palms and an elevated heart rate) while watching Track & Field in the Olympics or having a pregnancy hormone induced argument with your husband over which running stroller to purchase (guilty). And then, in turn, doing these things motivates you to do more, to run more.  A vicious cycle.

This all brings me to runner-y. Yes, it's a made up word, but I think it's an important word to have.  I think the things I listed above could be characterized as runner-y things.  Things you do, say, think about, purchase to support this wonderful habit. As I've been getting back into running after taking a pregnancy hiatus, I've been slowly adding these kinds of things into my daily routine. While doing something particularly "runner-y" today, the "word" popped into my head and lead me to list of some of the things I've been doing lately, like:

-Getting up a 3.30 am to feed a hungry baby, pump, and then head out for a run.
-Texting my running buddy, Ali, at 4.30 am to back out on our planned run because hungry baby is not cooperating and has decided she wants a 5 course gourmet meal instead of a midnight snack.
-Emailing my principal three weeks post-partum to determine what school hours will be so that I can figure out exactly what time I need to get up to fit in a morning run once maternity leave will be over (school hadn't even started yet)
-Goal setting for the next few months.
-Purchasing a double jogging stroller so I can run with both my toddler and infant during basketball season.
-Evaluating my running shoes to see if they'll last me or if I need to buy a new pair.
-Being envious of Ali's new gear, times, distance, strength (you go girl!)
-Writing about running

(It's hardcore "runner-y" of me to do morning workouts.  I am NOT a morning person.)

And today's "runner-y" thing: Buying electrolyte effervescent tabs to put into my water so that I'm not just flushing all the good stuff out of my system with the amount of water I'm drinking to keep up both my milk supply and to be well hydrated. (I think this takes the cake as the most runner-y thing I've done, although that pregnancy hormone induced argument with my husband is a close second.)

[Let me tell you they taste nasty - They are just like that "Airborne" stuff which somehow always encourages my gag reflex to jump into overdrive - but I'm doing it anyway because I'm hardcore like that.]

As I said, it's a mindset.  I find myself doing those things because it's intrinsically important to me to run. And to be a runner. 

What runner-y things do you do?