Today’s Run is broken up into two different pieces.
Outside Run: 4.01 miles @ 43:33
Inside Run: 4 miles @ 40:47
Total: 8.01 miles @ 1:24:20
It took me forever (well, what seemed like forever) to get my run in today. And today was long run day. I knew from the moment I got up at 7:35 this morning that I wanted to start my long run outside, complete half of it, and finish the second half inside.
The reason why I did this was because I have been running on the treadmill for the past month, and as my husband keeps telling me, “the treadmill just helps condition your body. It’s not going to help you get in marathon shape.” I didn’t completely believe him until now.
Let’s start with the beginning of my day, and go from there, shall we (btw, please forgive me for my lack of photos lately…I operate this blog completely off of my phone, which is filled up with thousands of photos of my Basset hounds. So if you’re wondering why I’m posting photos of my dogs all the time, and not running pics, that’s why).
The hounds, playing
Bella (the red Basset) got me up at 7:35 this morning, which is ridiculously early for me on a weekday! But, I got up, took the dogs out, made myself some coffee and some banana bread oatmeal, and sat at the kitchen table and iced my leg. Apparently, this was my first Mistake of the day.
Lesson #1: Don’t ice your leg while sitting at the kitchen table…or near the dogs crates.
I had been icing my leg for just short of 20 minutes when I felt something sticky on my hand. I looked down, and somehow the gel had popped out of the packet, and was oozing all over the floor!
I immediately grabbed the dogs and put them in their crates because I knew that if I didn’t, they could potentially eat some of it and get really, really sick. Thank God they didn’t!
Then I spent a long amount of time cleaning, vacuuming, and mopping the floors. At least this forced me to clean! There’s a bright side to everything.
After I finished cleaning, JP and I decided to take the dogs for a mile-long walk, since it was finally sunny and (somewhat) warm today.
Walking the Bella beast (this picture was actually taken in the fall)
Then, JP decided that he wanted to start brewing homemade hard cider, using the hard cider kit my mom bought him for Christmas. So, being the good wife that I am, I went out with him to get some more cider.
Lesson #2: If you want to get your run in before it gets dark, don’t go gallivanting all over town with your husband…or just get up earlier.
By the time we got home, it was 3:00. By the time I got all my stuff together (Gatorade, water bottle, inhaler, headband for the cold, etc.), it was 3:30.
Now, I had already been planning on “easing” myself back into running on the road, but it wasn’t easy.
Lesson #3: Don’t rely solely on your treadmill to train for a marathon. Unless your name is Paula Radcliffe, or Kara Goucher.
It wasn’t easy, but it also wasn’t hard. I could tell my legs would be sore, just from running 4 miles outside. But it felt so good to get that fresh air in my lungs! And to know that I would be sore!
After completing 4 miles outside, I had a nice, long stretch before heading into the basement to finish up on the treadmill. This was hard from the get-go. Luckily, I had some mental strength and some great running mantras going on:
Run strong, stay tough.
Saying “no” is not an option.
It was hard, but it got me through the run!
Lesson #4: I need to stop running in the treadmill and get some more road time, even if it means getting up early a couple days a week.
I know that in the upcoming weeks I’m going to have to put in more of an effort to run outside whenever I can.
Do you usually run outside or on a treadmill?
Do you feel like treadmill running takes longer than outside running? How do you push through it?
26.2 x 2 
I try to do at least half outside in winter, the rest of the year I’m 99% outdoors 🙂
Good idea to transition to the road! I run on the road as much as possible. Treadmill is if I have to run and it’s icy or thundering or something. Although, I don’t own a treadmill, so using one requires driving to the gym… If I owned one, I bet I would use it on cold days, or save TV shows to watch on it. 🙂
I’ve done a lot of my running on the treadmill and I think it’s mentally more challenging, and ends up being slower than running outside. You’d think I’d stop using it so much, but the dark and wet months are really hard to run outside in. I can’t wait until the days get longer again!
I completely agree that treadmill running feels like it takes longer! I run outside always, unless it is dangerous to run outside, like a storm. When I first started running outside 4 years ago I couldn’t believe how much more effort it took. Then I got hooked after the TM became such a chore. I try to push through a TM run, but the longest I’ve ever run on a TM was 8 miles, lol.
I love the dog pics 🙂