Since the SF Marathon on June 16, I can count the number of times I’ve ran on two hands (two of which have been races). I can count the number of times I have chosen to run before work on no hands. That’s right, I haven’t ran before work since the marathon, and I’m OK with that.

Although the Embarcadero and the Marina in San Francisco are two of the most beautiful places in the world to run and I’m incredibly lucky to have them at my disposal, anything repetitive can become boring. I trained for hundreds of miles on these two routes, watching the sun rise over the city as I ran back home from the Golden Gate Bridge and admiring the new Bay Bridge Lights before the sun rose over San Oakland.

However, since the race has ended, I haven’t feel the need to run these two very familiar routes. I’ve had short four- or five-mile runs planned in the morning but have opted to swim or go to the gym instead. So instead of forcing my return to regular morning runs, I’m expanding my horizons.

I’ve joined Crunch through a corporate rate at work and have really enjoyed having my ass handed to me at their bootcamp-style group classes and spin classes. I’ve been swimming more regularly at the pool. When I was marathon training, I was often too sore or stiff to consider lifting weights multiple times a week, and now weight training is an integral part of my workouts.

The purpose of working out is not to resent what you’re doing but instead enhance your daily life. Barring rapidly rising ocean levels, the Marina and the Embarcadero will be there waiting for me, and hopefully I’ll be stronger than before.