Monday, March 12, 2012

Running Outside > Treadmill

Only a couple more days until the Ras na hEireann 5k!
Today, on my way home from work, I picked up my bib and t-shirt at Marathon Sports in Melrose.


The funny thing is, when I signed up for this race, I thought all my friends were going to sign up too.  It turns out that none of them did, and I don't know anybody running this race!  I'm fine to do it myself, but I just would have liked to have a running buddy.  Oh well....at least I'll have my personal event photographer, CJ. :)

This week's training has been going well.
Saturday:  I ran 3 miles and took an upper body express class
Sunday: Unintentional rest day
Monday:  3 mile supah fast run!  time: 26:22 and pace: 8:46
Since today was unseasonably warm so I took advantage and went out for a run after work.
I decided to try and run faster than normal, just to see if I could meet my 5k goal of under 27 minutes and I succeeded! 

I know I've said this before but:

Running outside is soooooo much better than the treadmill!

Treadmill = boring, repetitive, has lack of scenery, lack of wind, unnatural, and reminiscent of a hamster wheel.

I shouldn't hate on the treadmill too much because it was my savior during the winter months when I couldn't run outside during my training for the black cat race.  I'm just happy to give it a little rest for the warmer months.

after my run
Running outside = more hills.  Yes, you can increase the incline on the treadmill, but I very rarely do that.  Why punish myself?  But, as I learned in my 10 mile run, training on hills is essential.  Hills are hard, they take a lot out of you and then you have to recover.  They slow me down.  Now, when I see a hill approaching, I remember the advice my brother gave me, I keep my chest up and lifted.  My tendency is to lean forward and hunch, but if you keep your chest up and your eyes forward, it will help.

Some interesting running factoids:

What can runners teach you about managing your money?

40 Random Facts about Running