"Why on EARTH would someone want to run on one of those all day?"
Yes, admittedly, treadmill running can be a bit of a bore and a bit of a chore, but it was always my "home". I started out running when I was in middle school. I was sick of doing the elliptical and I had really high aspirations of being in the military. I was convinced that I was going to join the US Air Force (despite being Canadian) because they had cool jobs that I wanted. The 2-mile run in around 23:00 scared me though (standards may have changed since then, FYI). To me, that was the scariest thing on Earth. I was always the chubby kid that could never run. All the cross-country team members at my school were naturally really skinny. Me? I was the star water polo player on selections for the Ontario team. I was in hardcore amazing shape and could swim 2 miles probably faster than I could run them. Actually, I could swim them a LOT faster. But that made me a total tank and I knew that if I wanted any chance at being a solid soldier, I needed to get my boots on the ground and shed a few pounds while getting my body into running mode. So I ran on the treadmill. My first run wasn't even a run. I just wanted to get to a mile and say that I did a mile that night, so I found a way of pulling one out of me. Ever the planner (still am today), I decided to be organized in my training. I was going to walk for three of the little digital bars on my treadmill, then run for one of them. I think my running speed was somewhere in the 5.5 mph range. In what seemed like forever, I finally completed that mile, and I've been logging them on treadmills ever since.
Until now.
If you asked me to name some of the best runs of my life, I could name a few.
There was that week in Cuba in 2004 where my mom, along with one of my best friends and her mom, went to the Caribbean for Christmas break. It was loads of fun, but I loved my "escape" before dinner. Around sunset, I'd set out for a run on the sprawling all-inclusive hotel grounds, listening to my CD player (yes, CD player), which was playing either my new Avril Lavigne CD, or a Kenny Chesney one (I was going through my country phase). I loved it. Some summer nights when it's hot and sticky, I just want to go for a run and take myself back to that hotel.
There was a run, just 2 weeks ago, that took my breath away. It was just some lame run in West Ottawa where I nearly got hit by a car, but I was jogging and while "Lifesong" by Casting Crowns was playing, two birds flew alongside me down a road that led through some fields.
There was that run, last weekend, when I was in Dallas and was feeling gross from driving halfway across the USA and wanted some alone time, particularly to avoid an awkward situation with his roommates, who aren't really my biggest supporters. I guess his area isn't that great, so I ran around the complex area. It was only about 0.62 miles around the complex, but it provided a nice up and down course and the weather was just fantastic. It was around 90 degrees and humid, but I love running when it's pitch black and super warm, so it was my ideal climate. My shadow strode alongside me in the middle of the concrete road and, after getting a surprise spray from a sprinkler, I reached out my arms to the sides like a bird, and ran through a series of them, pretty much soaking myself entirely (especially from the knees down). Still not satisfied with a few laps of the complex, I picked a line that divided the concrete slabs of the road (Canadians won't be familiar with this) and took 20 long steps, hoping it was 20 metres. I set my water bottle down and switched on the RAF's beep test.
"The multi-stage fitness test will start in 5 seconds.... ready...."
I got to level 5, which is significantly solid for a night where breathing was near-impossible. A neighbour across the street probably thought I was stalking her as I ran back and forth between my water bottle and this line on the road so, breathlessly, I shouted, "Just doing a fitness test!". She laughed and said she wanted to join me.
This seems like it went on a big long tangent, but it really hasn't. Some of my best runs (these were the top 3 I could think of, but there are many others) came outside. The details, the events, they all happened outside and, most importantly, they were all so very different. Even if I run the same route, I never have the same run. I absolutely remember a lot of my treadmill runs. Some very GOOD treadmill runs. But the Monday I sprinted for a mile to Bury Your Head by Saosin blends in with the Wednesday I sprinted for 0.50 miles to Bury Your Head by Saosin. I still love running on the treadmill, and I still love the metrics that it provides and the ability to project races and see improvement, but I think while the Canadian summer is still rolling along, I might try to go for a few more memorable runs.
I still enjoy a few sprint sessions on the treadmill, though.
Anne
How do we know that's even really you?
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