This past week I’ve read numerous posts describing bloggers’ feelings on fall. Personally, I love it. I love the cool crisp air. I love wearing jeans and a fleece. I love being able to run outside and not worry about the dreaded Runner’s Gut. However, there are a couple of drawbacks. The first is that it stays dark until later in the morning and gets dark earlier in the evening. This means that unless I want to go running with a miner’s helmet or at the very least a flashlight, running outside early in the morning or after the kids are in bed is quickly coming to an end. Daytime runs aren’t really an option either particularly when you consider that the only time that would really work would be when the high school kids are getting out of school. After all my running path crosses the routes run by multiple schools buses, and the last thing I need is to have to listen to teenagers hollering snide comments out the window (which has happened before). Plus, my jogging stroller is lost in the abyss of our basement since its last use when my five year old was two.
Of course there are other options like running on the track. Armed with a good playlist, it’s actually not so bad. Of course there is also the treadmill. I’ll admit that I just don’t get the appeal of it. Sure, I understand its function, and I do use it from time to time. It’s just so boring. My enthusiasm for the treadmill is not helped by the fact that I have yet to remember to bring a towel that I can place over the numbers so I don’t feel my eyes magnetically pulled to the time.
Last week a man set out to beat the world record for longest distance covered on a treadmill in 48 hours. Ironically, I learned about this while watching the gym’s TV while I was on the treadmill. He has my admiration but not my understanding. There’s no change in scenery, no sudden burst of cool wind, and no teenagers honking at you! Alright that last one is actually a good thing.
Cool weather and shorter days also mean my biking time is coming to a close. However, there’s always spinning, and seeing as I don’t bike with my iPod, the music in spinning class is way better than what I’m otherwise listening to!
by Alex Elliot
Photo graciously provided by dead_squid, through a Creative Commons license, some rights reserved
2 responses so far ↓
inthefastlane // Sep 27, 2008 at 12:35 pm
I try to run outside in the morning, even when it is dark. I leave the treadmill for a last resort: thunderstorm, sub zero temps…I do end up on the treadmill a lot in Jan/Feb, but I do a lot of my runs around my subdivision and the one across the street. Winding back and forth. Sometimes it is as boring as the treadmill, But, I would still rather be outside.
Kelly D // Sep 28, 2008 at 10:04 pm
Your treadmill is my husbands idea of a spinning class. Since we live in AZ he can ride all year long. In the 11 years we’ve been together I’ve seen him on rollers (his version of spinning) twice!
As for me, I love fall in AZ because now I can actually enjoy a nice walk in the cooler weather.
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