I’m here to report that saying you’re going to train outside all winter and actually doing so are two very different things. It’s nice to saying that no matter how cold it gets and no matter how much snow falls, you’ll be out there trudging through it, but the reality of icy, unshoveled sidewalks are just about enough to ruin any well-intentioned run.
Last week Boston got about fifteen inches of snow between Thursday and Friday. It was frigidly cold and after being cooped up inside for two days, Danna (in from out of town for the week!) and I headed to the gym.
Ready to kick the gym in the face
My original plan was to run three miles on the treadmill. I had my phone playing music and I was ready to go. After a couple minutes of a warm-up walk I started jogging. And then I was fixating on the red numbers telling me how much time wasn’t passing. I tried looking for something else to focus on, but the options in the gym are kind of limited. Look to the left at the girl running easily, to the right and accidentally make eye contact with someone, or straight ahead at your own reflection in the powered-off tv. I found my entire time on the treadmill incredibly awkward, and I ended up walking a lot because I was so bored and uncomfortable. After thirty minutes on the treadmill I sat on the bike for another thirty, which was slightly less agonizing.
I am really envious of religious gym go-ers. The type that go three times a week, or more, for an hour and enjoy it (are they actually out there?). When Danna and I were at the gym we definitely looked like early January newbies, not knowing where the locker room was, and wearing cotton shirts. But we went, and survived, and felt better knowing we had worked off a little bit of our blizzard bellies.
Its hard to find a routine that keeps you motivated during the winter, but I know that I can’t let myself take these months off. Spring will be here before you know it, and so will all of the races I’m planning on being prepared to run. Bundle up and run outside, learn to tolerate the treadmill, or sign up for classes at the gym and try something new. There are options for winter workouts, we just have to look for them. Giving up can’t be one of them.
I got rolling with a gym routine for awhile this fall, but still probably only about two days per week at best. It’s part of a balanced approach to exercise, but for most people, I don’t think it can be everything.
Next time, pick a treadmill in front of a TV that’s actually on.
And I almost always wear a cotton t-shirt to the gym… not that big a deal.
Classes, Classes, Classes! They are your best friend if the gym equipment bores you to pieces! They provide variety in your routine and challenge you with exercises that you probably wouldn’t do on your own, therefore engaging and challenging new muscles that you may not use during your runs. Which results in an overall stronger/athletic individual 🙂
Seriously give a couple classes a try, don’t be scared, you might actually enjoy it and get hooked! (And it might just make you a stronger runner come springtime!)
Best is to coordinate the gym with something that is at least passable on TV, especially if you are trying to do a whole hour.
Alternatively, don’t plan on running for the whole time. Run for a while, and then go lift weights, or do a rowing machine (these are so expensive, I might join a gym someday again just to use these again) and then go back to the bike. Better to not hate it than try to duplicate what you would do running outside.
I do exercise videos at home. I keep the blinds closed so the fact that they are silly is okay. I play them on my computer and have some other audio or video playing simultaneously unless I’m doing one that is new or really intense.
I found that setting the treadmill on the interval setting (usually 2 min intervals) and vary up the pace or incline is a good way to break it up the time . . . each two minutes fly by usually
Yesterday I used three different pieces of equipment at the gym, and before I knew it, an hour had gone by. I did a half hour elliptical, which seemed quick because I usually do forty five, then used the rowing machine, then tried out a new piece of equipment called a crossover that almost killed me, but was kinda fun at the same time. It was part nordic track, part elliptical, and part step – with arm movements thrown in. I felt like I had really done something by the time I left the gym!
Agreed, do not like treadmill for long periods even with a TV, but intervals do help. You have to pay attention to what is coming next.
Like the T-shirt…could use that saying for the Packers 🙁
Agreed with a lot of commenters – I use intervals to keep the monotony from driving me crazy. I don’t think I could ever do a straight run on a treadmill without quitting early, because I just watch the seconds tick away slowly and realize I’m getting nowhere. I’m so not one of those gym people.