Monday, May 2, 2011

Still a Fair Weather Runner

I haven't quite acclimated to running in bad weather, I hid indoors and hit the treadmill for the winter/early spring season, waiting for the heat to return. I started back on the trails about two months ago, and the thought of the treadmill again makes me groan. It's just not as gratifying as running outdoors.


Now, I'm no stranger to extreme weather running, a snow storm two years ago didn't halt my half marathon training. It was a cool 19 degrees outside and we were running with a Camelbak, that froze at the mouthpiece every 5 to 10 minutes if we weren't sucking down the water....and I ran cross country in Las Vegas at 3 p.m. during August, on a good day we were below 100. But, if given the option I'm a snob for 60 degree breezy weather. Today was not one of those days, so I took the opportunity to catch a few more zzz's and put off the treadmill another day.


A gloomy Monday, view from my office in Downtown Fort Worth...45  degrees today,
90 degrees on Saturday. The weather certainly isn't dull in North Texas.
Here are some tips, insight and workouts to stop the groaning before a treadmill run:
  • Check out these interval workouts from Runners World
  • I like to get everything done in the least amount of time, so I do a circuit workout for the hard days. Start with a mile warm-up, bump up the speed to about 70 percent of your race pace and hold that for 2 to 5 minutes, depending on your allotted workout time, slow it down for 30 seconds and then hop off and do either an arm or leg circuit workout, back on the treadmill for another 2 to 5 minute speed workout, this time at 80 percent. Repeat for 90, then do a mile cool down. This gets your weight lifting and running in without taking up too much time on those busy mornings.
  • The treadmill is lower impact than outdoor running, and can help on days you're feeling achy but still want to get a workout in.
  • Some good tunes help keep your workout exciting, check out my list below:
If you're like me running on the treadmill requires a different, more upbeat, playlist than outdoors. Here are a few songs I've got lined up for the next indoor session:
Happy Treading!

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