A Year Abroad: Running.

I'm a bored runner. Meaning, I get bored very easily when I run.
I've noticed a strong correlation between my running times and boredom. I run everyday at 4pm, for 45 minutes only, which equals out to about 8-9km. Except for Mondays, when I'm at uni all day and Wednesdays, when I swim 1500m. Because of this, I have a lot of data built up about my running times and distances, and there is one distinct pattern, i.e. the more bored I am, the slower I go. And it's significantly slower.
There are three things I do to combat boredom when I run:
a). The Playlist. I have a very high turnover rate of music on my phone, which I wear in an armband. Music puts me in a good mood, especially if it's music I like or can sing along to or makes me feel a particular strong emotion. To keep it fresh, I change music every few runs. Just adding in a few songs, or deleting a few can really change the order of it, and it makes me less bored when I run as I never know what song's coming next. Oh, the suspense.
b). The Route. I never run the same route twice. And I prefer if it's a random order of streets every time. I never know where I'm going when I run. I just let my legs turn when they want. The fresher and unknown the scenery, the faster I run. If I run along the quays now, which used to be my common running spot, I run about a minute slower per kilometre than if I'm running elsewhere. I also feel fatigued a lot quicker when I run the quays now. So I stay away from them as much as possible, or just run sections of it at a time. My best times have been when I run in or to a place I've never been before, i.e. when I have no idea where I am. When I'm lost, I'm fastest. Changing it up all the time is particularly hard as I run everyday, so it's hard to find somewhere new every time. But, as long as I'm running a different order of streets, or at least two new streets every time, it's fresh enough.
c). The Memory. If you make me angry or feel a particularly strong emotion before I run, this too increases my speed. Because I have something to think about for a period of time, so I don't get bored. I don't have time to think about how bored I am, if I'm busy thinking about how angry or happy or sad I am, or how funny something was.
If I can hit all three things in one run, I'm running in the sweet spot, and my time is significantly increased. Twice this week, I've run 8km in under 5min/km. Both times I ran new paths, had a new playlist and had uni work to think about.
Boredom busters for the win!

Other than running, I've just finished my third week back at uni. It has been good! I'm understanding things about the renaissance, and learning new things. My computer and drawing classes and run. And, without having other Australian's in the majority of my classes, I'm forced to make real French friends. It's not as hard as I thought. Especially in my drawing class, everyone seems lovely!
I've also been baking a fair bit lately. Maaannn do I love a good bake. I can't help it now. If I'm bored, I bake.