Thursday, June 12, 2008

It's over.

I'm thinking of leaving my treadmill.

It's not him. It's me. The past 4 years have been great but I need room to grow and get stronger and I can't do that while being involved with him. I think it's time we go our separate ways, at least for a while.

This decision comes about not from what the treadmill did but what it does not do. It does not acclimate my legs to harder surfaces like asphalt and concrete - the surfaces I'll be running on. If I could do a treadmill marathon, that'd be one thing. But since I can't I need to run on those surfaces so that I can get used to them. I'm tired of having a run outside one day only to attempt to run the next day and be forced to quit after 1/2 mile because my legs hurt so bad that all I want to do is lay down in the middle of the trail and cry while I wait for a pack of angry bicyclists to run over me and put me out of my misery.

Tuesday, I ran outside. It was exactly the run I was going to attempt last week where I just ran without having a pace or distance in mind. I set my watch to 30 minutes and headed out in the neighborhood. I almost turned around after about 13 steps because my shorts kept riding up...as I like to say - "my thighs were eating my shorts". You get the picture. As I briefly paused to look back at the house, I had a Harold & Kumar moment, thinking "No way man. It's too far" and turned around and kept running. It was a nice opportunity to check out the 'hood since I haven't done a lot of that yet. I hate to admit it but I did stop once, almost halfway through. I stretched and walked for just a minute and then started running again. I hate that I stopped but felt a little better afterwards. I can't say that the run felt glorious and I ran like the wind and all that good stuff, but it was nice to run outside. I'm tired of experiencing the running equivalent to bikram yoga while on the treadmill in the garage. When I was out running errands today, I decided to satisfy my curiosity of how far I actually ran. I figured it was anywhere between 2.5 and 3 miles. I'm happy to report that it was 2.8 miles and I did it in 30 minutes, so that is pretty good. I imagine if I'd run the remaining .2 I would have beat my 5k time. Damn those water stops! But overall, this run was certainly faster than what I've been doing it on the treadmill. That gives me hope.

Yesterday I was going to run again. It didn't work out. I'm resting today. I think I'll do some weights and maybe some yoga. I might venture outside tomorrow and see what happens. Wish me luck!

12 comments:

Amy said...

You can doooo it!!

Chris said...

I know how you feel about the treadmill, maybe not on the same intimate level, but I know him just the same. I do a lot of treadmill running mainly due to time constraints and weather issues. I feel that as long as I get my long run in outside I will be fine. I hope that is true...

Hope you had a good workout today!

SueBob said...

Good luck. It can be a bit difficult of a transition, but I really prefer outside running now that I am use to it. It is a hard habit to break though.

Mrs. Mighton said...

Great job on your run outside! Running 2.8 in 30 minutes is definitely good! I hope you have another great run tomorrow! :-)

Aron said...

good luck!! i started my training on the treadmill, but after a couple of runs outside i was addicted, now i HATE running on the treadmill! you will love it :)

Rachel said...

Jen, great job on trying to fit those outdoor runs in! I used to swear by the treadmill and used it as a kid uses a blankie but then I discovered the gold mine of outdoor runs. I dread treadmill runs now because you miss the smells of the outdoors and your body eventually does adjust to running outside. I usually run faster outside so that is an added bonus too.

julie said...

yay, outside! i think you'll find there's more joy in distance running when there's something to see. really. and on shorts riding up-- when it's sticky-humid, nothing avoids it for me, so i just try to make it not hurt using bodyglide there. but otherwise, i always wear the "fitness shorts" with skirt over 'em. helps... a little.

MissAllycat said...

The treadmill and I have an open relationship. We definitely see other people in the summer...but I always come crawling back into his loving arms upon the arrival of the first ice storm. Ahhh, the joys of living in Minnesota...

Chris said...

Hi Jen, please send me the e-mail address you blog with. I am setting up a small blog for our virtual training group and I want to add you. E-mail me at gibtown@gmail.com. Thanks!

Emily said...

Dump it. You'll be glad you did :) One thing I like is that I am not locked into a pace. Outside I natually run faster and slower depending on how I feel and end up with better times overall. I listen to my body more outside.

Anonymous said...

I'm a runner and somehow I came across your blog and thought I would urge you on. I used to be a treadmiller too and now, I can't stand him. It is so much more exhilerating to run outside. My best friend has now become my Garmin 405 heart rate monitor watch. He has kept me motivated and allows me to compete against my previous runs. Seriously, I don't know how I ever trained without my 405. You should check it out at www.clevertraining.com . This is pretty much the only place I could find him actually in stock

You can do it, girl. Just keeping pushing ahead!

*jen* said...

Thanks Diva Dash. I will check that out. Do you have a blog?

"If you think you can, or think you can't, you're right."

~Henry Ford