Bad Angel Rule #90

Take the Road Less Traveled.

I’ve always been a make-your-bed-every-morning type of rule-follower, so taking risks isn’t something that comes naturally to me. Running suits me, naturally, because it’s a discipline-driven hobby that involves quite a lot of repetition. I tend to run the same routes, on the same days of the week, at generally the same pace, every time out.

My husband, however, is more of a renegade. He’s an explorer. A risk-taker. He had this hair-brained idea to take the roof off our house and add a second story — while we were living in it with a toddler. He’s crazy like that. And when he runs, he’s constantly going down new streets, through unfamiliar territory and down paths without knowing where they end.

A couple of weeks ago, he encouraged me to take a sidewalk that led to god-only-knows-where because he was certain that I would like it. And goshdarnit, he was right. It was a lovely little shortcut through the woods and past adorable houses I never knew existed.

Man, I’ve gotta get braver. Taking a new road and going somewhere unfamiliar can add variety to your run — and to your life. Let’s get out there and take the road less traveled. After all, sometimes the journey itself can be the destination. — Aidz