Love/Hate: Treadmills

Since the temperatures are rising well into the 90s in New York yesterday, I opted for a quick run on a treadmill at the gym instead of completely melting in the park.  Before I really knew anything about running, I really enjoyed running on treadmills.  In my novice runner naïveté, I thought it supremely convenient to hop on the treadmill, run until I was tired, hop off and go home.  Goal setting wasn’t part of my running at that point, and I didn’t have much of a motivation to increase my endurance.  I just wanted to zone out, listen to loud music, and get my run over with.

They're so happy and not drenched in sweat!

As my running has evolved from trotting around in an occasional 5K’s to training for a marathon, I’ve learned to appreciate running outside and exploring new routes.  I don’t always plan out how far I’m going to run anymore.  Sometimes, I’ll just set out in a certain direction and just go, and I’ll just find my way back home eventually.  I’ve also learned how to run in the dry, cold winter air – something that has always forced me to the treadmill in the past.  I’ve also found that running is a great way to explore a city.  When I first moved to New York, I ran a lot up and down the East River and through the East Village.  It was a great introduction to life in NYC, and a way for me to see different neighborhoods.  Since I moved further uptown, I’ve done more running in Central Park and Randall’s Island, and I now feel like I know those places inside and out.  As running outside and exploring new places have become integral parts of my training, treadmill running has slowly been phased out.  Hopping on the treadmill yesterday felt like I was reverting to my old ways.

Perhaps it was the TV mounted to the treadmill which was enticingly playing “The Price is Right” that caused my gaze to shift downwards and my form to further deterioate as a result, or perhaps it was the fact that I felt more like a hamster than a runner.  Regardless of the cause, my stride was definitely off yesterday.  I ended up heel striking more than I do out on the road, and I felt like I was landing a lot harder.  I spent most of my workout trying to soften my footstrikes, but I was too motivated to get off of the dreaded machine to really focus, so I just cranked it up and ran hard for 20 minutes.

I found it really hard to not be judgmental while at the gym.  Half of the people who were running were jogging slowly with the incline cranked up, which, in all fairness is a good workout, but were holding on for dear life to the side rails.  The other half of the runners had their speed jacked up and were pounding the treadmill with viciously hard heel strike after heel strike.  That's fine if that works for you, but probably not the best for your joints.  I also turned my judgmental eyes inward - since there is no summer park breeze whisking away the excess heat and sweat during a run at the gym, I was a giant, sweaty mess when I sat down to do some ab work. 

It’s another scorcher today, but I’m not going to the gym this time.  I think I’ll just wait until evening when the heat index is nearly tolerable to get a quick run in.