Last night I found myself doing something I never imagined doing. I had to chuckle to myself as I plodded away, step after step. It was an experience but one that I deemed necessary.
Running on the treadmill can be a monotonous experience sometimes. Especially when you are staring at the back of the garage door for an hour while you pound away on the moving deck belt.
My current running challenge – 10k A Day In May – is one where I’m not chasing any time targets. That means that I am not pushing too hard when running, and although I do prefer running outdoors when I do use the treadmill it gives me another option.
So, in a rather unglamorous scene, I set up my running station for a hour-long rune to get in my 10k.
I wheeled our bin (thankfully emptied earlier in the day) in position in front of the treadmill. Upon that, I placed my Kindle tablet and set playing The Walking Dead.
You might think this is an odd choice of visual entertainment while running. I agree – it is. But it worked. I lost myself in my running, falling into the rhythm I was looking for
An hour went by without me really realising it and that was satisfying. To be able to run 10k a day for the whole month means I’m not trying to break any PBs – just run the distance. Easy running it what I’m looking for most of the time.
Fast forward to the middle of the following day and I’m outdoors. I’m running steady. Breathing in the clean North Yorkshire air. A cool breeze counterbalancing my warming body.
I am on the trails, my favourite. Just me and Duke and the countryside. It’s uncomplicated running – just keep it steady.
Two vastly different runs just hours apart.
From watching Rick Grimes and Daryl Dixon stuck in a hole with zombies dropping in on them, to picking my way across farmland, through quarries and across dry river beds.
Isn’t running wonderful?
