Treadmill Time

January has proved to be a cold, icy and snowy month so far.  That's to be expected where I live, but we've got off quite lightly over the past couple of years, since I started running.  This is the first time I've had to contemplate indoor running, because the weather conditions here just aren't safe enough, especially for someone like me who has had more than her fair share of running falls during her short career to date.  If I can trip over my own feet in mid-summer, I dread to think what I can do in a hazardous winter.

Of course, I am constantly being reminded by social media that there are people out there who are continuing to run in spite of the conditions - or even because of the conditions.  Many people think that 'snowy runs' are great experiences, something you have to do if you want to call yourself a 'real runner.'  The general view seems to be that freshly fallen snow is fine, but ice is a whole different ball game, although there are some troopers who are unfazed by ice and suggest it's just a question of having the right pair of trail shoes or buying some 'Yaktrax.'  

Black ice is particularly worrying.  We went for an early morning run a couple of weeks ago and it looked perfect out of the window.  We couldn't get out of the door fast enough.  At last!  That awful snowfall was really just a bad dream!  The sun was shining and there was no ice to be seen at all.  Then, when we reached the trail, I was suddenly hanging onto the gate to stop myself slipping backwards down a steep hill, like Frank Spencer on roller skates (for those who are old enough to remember.)  That was before I had even started running.  Of course, being in lockdown doesn't help, because we are obliged to stay local.  Gone are the days when you could venture further afield and find a place less badly affected by the weather.

Since then I have been doing my daily runs on the treadmill.  It's far from ideal, but I have never hated treadmills in the way that some people do.  As long as I have a good playlist, I'm fine.  It's true that any speedwork I do on the treadmill doesn't ever seem to translate to improvements outside.  It's too different.  However, what the treadmill does do is help me keep up my general fitness and control my weight at a time when I'm spending an awful lot of evenings watching TV with a bar of Galaxy. In that respect it is way better than nothing.  I know that when I do venture outside again, it won't take me too long to get back to where I was.  It also means I can still continue to log miles towards my Lands End to John o' Groats virtual challenge, although it sometimes feels a bit fraudulent.

My treadmill routines are pretty straightforward.  I rarely do more than 5K, although once in the past I did 10 miles. (Unfortunately the treadmill I have resets itself after it's been going more than an hour, so it's not ideal for longer distances)  I try to mix it up and do some intervals and I push the pace so I always feel I've had a good workout.  My 5K times on treadmill are way better than outdoors.  I don't count them as PBs.  I sometimes wonder why they are so much faster.  Obviously, there are things like hills and weather conditions (and of course the fact that you're not on a moving belt!) that make outdoor running different, but I think for me it's to do with the fact that outside I always have a fear of falling, so I never quite let go.  On the treadmill you really can just go for it.  That said, I've heard many people say just the opposite, that their outdoor times are better than their treadmill times.  I don't understand why that should be, apart from perhaps the boredom factor sapping their energy.  We are all different.

I desperately miss my outdoor runs though.  Sometimes I am so, so tempted to venture out, but I usually deal with this by picturing myself sat in A & E with a broken leg, the last place I would want to be right now, and reminding myself that the overstretched NHS does not need people like me giving it more work to do.  I also remember a famous YouTube video clip where a man and woman are being interviewed about the benefits of running outdoors in the snow and then, as they jog off steadily into the distance, she slips and lands on her arse.  That would so be me!

Perhaps I'm being over-cautious but to be honest, I would rather be missing a few runs right now than get an injury which keeps me out for months, meaning I'm sidelined when the lovely spring weather gets here.  It's good to think that before we know it, we'll all be wearing T shirts and shorts again and moaning because it's 'too hot to run.'

I think the benefits of outdoor running are as much about the fresh air as the exercise and I try to make sure that on days when it isn't safe to go out to run, I still spend some time outside.  It may mean a walk around the frosty fields or it might mean a potter round the garden.  I think it helps.  In fact, some of my snow walks have been absolutely beautiful and on walks you do see more than you see when you're whizzing past (okay, in my dreams!) running.  The best times are when the flakes are big and crisp and fall in slow motion and the silence is utterly magical, as if you're suspended in time.  When it's like that, you can almost (just almost) understand why all these runners on Facebook can't wait to go out and catch snowflakes on their tongue as they plough bravely on in their Yaktrax, then roll around making snow angels after completing 20 awesome miles. I look at their rosy-cheeked, frozen haired selfies with awe - and then I remember that svelte, gazelle of a runner landing on her coccyx in the video clip that went viral.  If it could happen to her, it can happen to anyone.  So, treadmill runs and frosty walks will have to do for now.  It really isn't so bad.