As a runner in Texas, I really only have to deal with one (well, kind of two) weather element(s) - the heat coupled with the humidity. The cold weather is really never that cold (in fact, I'm loving it right now), we get sunshine most days (average is 300 days a year) and we're not really close enough to the coast for any real hurricane threat.
I've been training for my first marathon for the last 9 months, so a majority of that time has been spent running - outside - in the heat (and humidity). We also had record heat in Austin, Texas this summer and even with all the rain in the last month- we are still in a drought. This made for some rather slow, sweaty and disgusting days of running (see any of my running posts from July or August if you need a better understanding of how I can scare children just by running past them).
Because the heat in Texas is so well-known, I've been asked by many locals and friends who live outside the state why I don't run a treadmill. The simple answer is - I can't. I don't know what it is about the treadmill. In theory, running on the treadmill should be easier for me - there are no hills, no rocks for me to trip over and treadmills are located in these convenient places called gyms that are air conditioned. This should make treadmill running easier for me, right? But, I just can't do it.
I'll give you an example, for my Team Tri class (we meet on Tues., Thurs, and Fri.) we usually spend part of the hour running - on a treadmill- this is the worst 20 minutes of the work out for me and I'm even being entertained (kind of) by our coach and my fellow Team Tri friends. I find treadmill running not only boring, but kind of uncomfortable. Does this make me strange, a glutton for punishment or normal?
There was one day this summer, when I just couldn't get out of bed (because morning is the only time you really can run in the summer in Texas), so I decided that I would go run on the treadmill at my gym. I thought I could easily do 6 - 7 miles without a problem. I even listen to the same stuff on my ipod running outside as I did when trying this indoor treadmill run. Well, after about 2.5 miles - I just couldn't do it any more. I was done trying and I have never gone back - even with more than 50 days over 100 degrees this summer.
So yesterday - during my Team Tri class I ran my uncomfortable 20 minutes (for about 1.5 miles) on the treadmill and happily, this morning I returned to the great outdoors (where it was 50 degrees - whooppee) for a very pleasant 7 mile run.
I've been training for my first marathon for the last 9 months, so a majority of that time has been spent running - outside - in the heat (and humidity). We also had record heat in Austin, Texas this summer and even with all the rain in the last month- we are still in a drought. This made for some rather slow, sweaty and disgusting days of running (see any of my running posts from July or August if you need a better understanding of how I can scare children just by running past them).
Because the heat in Texas is so well-known, I've been asked by many locals and friends who live outside the state why I don't run a treadmill. The simple answer is - I can't. I don't know what it is about the treadmill. In theory, running on the treadmill should be easier for me - there are no hills, no rocks for me to trip over and treadmills are located in these convenient places called gyms that are air conditioned. This should make treadmill running easier for me, right? But, I just can't do it.
I'll give you an example, for my Team Tri class (we meet on Tues., Thurs, and Fri.) we usually spend part of the hour running - on a treadmill- this is the worst 20 minutes of the work out for me and I'm even being entertained (kind of) by our coach and my fellow Team Tri friends. I find treadmill running not only boring, but kind of uncomfortable. Does this make me strange, a glutton for punishment or normal?
There was one day this summer, when I just couldn't get out of bed (because morning is the only time you really can run in the summer in Texas), so I decided that I would go run on the treadmill at my gym. I thought I could easily do 6 - 7 miles without a problem. I even listen to the same stuff on my ipod running outside as I did when trying this indoor treadmill run. Well, after about 2.5 miles - I just couldn't do it any more. I was done trying and I have never gone back - even with more than 50 days over 100 degrees this summer.
So yesterday - during my Team Tri class I ran my uncomfortable 20 minutes (for about 1.5 miles) on the treadmill and happily, this morning I returned to the great outdoors (where it was 50 degrees - whooppee) for a very pleasant 7 mile run.
I am in a similar boat living here in FL, and i too can't run on a treadmill. I think the boredom of it affects my phsyical ability to do it.
ReplyDeleteI hate the treadmill, but with my schedule and the hubby's schedule there are times I have no choice. I dread it all day long though! Did I mention that I HATE the treadmill? :-)
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