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The Great Lunch Run Experiment: Taking Stock Of The Week

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Running at lunch is not the easiest thing to do. You're faced with a change of clothes, a need for hygiene, and a time limit on how long you can bandy about the streets.

When I decided to begin The Great Lunch Run Experiment on Monday, I had a very sore shin from kicking a soccer ball on Sunday. That pain lingered all week and I was only able to run on Monday, Wednesday and now Friday.

Today was the first day I actually ran without pain. I am going to continue the experiment over the first three days of next week in order to get a better grasp on the concept without being in pain.

What did I learn? Quite a few things, actually.

First of all, the streets of Washington are busy, and you need to have a plan in mind or else you'll be stuck idling at intersections every quarter mile.

Secondly, running clothes begin to reek when kept in a bag, even for just a few days. If one is to exercise at work, they will need to bring fresh clothes every day or try to clean them as best as possible in the shower. Febreze could also help in this situation.

Also, you HAVE to shower. I am fortunate enough to have a shower at the SB Nation headquarters. Without it, this would have been entirely impossible, for the sake of my coworkers.

Finally, I don't get the same joy out of lunch runs that I do on evening runs. There is something special about running away the work of the day while not worrying about time constraints. Life is an open book and freedom is possible.

I'll revisit the subject on Monday, and perhaps getting some really good runs in on the National Mall will change everything. Enjoy your weekend, friends.