Over the past few weeks, I have relied on treadmill running at the gym. This made sense as I had been limiting my runs to 15 or 20 minutes. Throwing my physio homework and a treadmill sesh into my gym time has been relatively natural. Also not going to lie, venturing outside during that October cold snap was not exactly the most appealing thing.
Risky Business
I have built a steady gym routine over the past couple years that has become second nature. It is part of my schedule and I sort of miss it when it is gone. So here is where it gets tricky…
I have a fear that my fitness system, which has taken years to nail down, will start to crumble as more and more of my time is shifted to the marathon training schedule. What if I can’t handle the change of priorities and both the gym and the ultra blow up??
The tragic irony of potentially losing one of my strongest supports for mental health during a time when motivation and mindfulness is most crucial – not lost on me at all.
Balancing Act
It is still relatively early in the training schedule. With a bit of a delay in building distance, I have yet to hit a run that would take longer than an hour. I have been clinging to the gym so that I can keep the status quo.
However, I am not completely delulu. A trail ultramarathon is not going to take place indoors. Frankly, I think watching paint dry would be a veritable Stephen King thriller next to running 50k on a treadmill. Besides, I have specifically selected a “trail” ultra because I want that interesting terrain and beautiful scenery.
At this point it is just a matter of making room in my routine for the longer training runs.
The Great Cold Outdoors
I have done quite a few outdoor winter runs in the past. This part of the training is not a deal breaker. In fact, I find the crisp temperatures preferable to the sweltering heat of summer. That being said, there is no sauna awaiting me at the end of a snowy trail, unlike at the gym.
In order to motivate myself to pick the trail over the gym for longer runs specifically, I think I will just take the gym off the table. If I want to tick those runs off the list (well, technically fill the cell in my Excel spreadsheet with a satisfying shade of green), then I will need to layer up and hit the trails!
So, to bring this around full circle to my blog (henceforth referred to by its cool acronym HFTH), please expect to see some lovely pictures from these outdoor runs as part of future posts!
