Put the title above to "Life in the Fast Lane," by the Eagles. The "fake road" is my affectionate nickname for the treadmill.
Lately, I've spent a lot of time, and miles, on a road that goes nowhere (music and lyrics by The Talking Heads). The fake road has been my friend during the early winter months. Here in Amarillo, every day is another windy one. We actually beat Chicago one year for the most windy days. Sorry Steven, but Amarillo should've been called "The Windy City."
I've struggled with a bacterial infection in my stomach, so put that with cold, windy weather and I'm relegated to logging hours staring at a digital panel and a televisions in the gym I can't even hear. Thanks Apple for making iPod with no FM tuners! But, I get to listen to my playlist to pass the time in the comfort of indoor serenity. All I need is some fake birds chirping and I'm all set. I do find listening to music makes my rage against the machine a little calmer. Actually, I don't really rage against it. I like it, kinda sorta.
The tread has its place. I understand that. It will never replace the enjoyment of being outdoors, but it comes in handy when your pressed for time or the weather prohibits an outside run. Even in the summer I sometimes find myself pounding the conveyor since I'm not a morning person and if you wait until it cools off you'll be running at midnight on some days.
Either way, I am a runner. I feel like I'm accomplishing something, one way or the other. Sure the elements aren't there to make a run as challenging, but it's cool to see people I know coming in and out of the cardio area, especially when my students see me up on that machine. They can't resist coming over to say hi, even after I've been with them all day. You can't get that outside.
Life of the fake road ain't all bad. The fake road serves its own calibrated purpose and makes life a little easier. Tomorrow's supposed to be nice, so I'll do my best to get out there and enjoy the warmth in January.
Do you like treadmill running? If so, tell me. If you don't, tell me why. Running on a machine is tricky and can make you feel like George Jetson. Trust me. Been there, done that!
Hope you had a splendid weekend and will have a great start to the week on Monday.
That's my treadmill confession...what's yours?
TFR
2 comments:
The windy city origin in Chicago is probably not tied to the wind, although walking in the city in January when the temp is only 5 and the wind is blowing 30 miles an hour, sure makes it feel like that was the reason.
Personally, I am OK with the treadmill, but prefer to get outside. I like the treadmill because I can watch TV. The first time I was able to run 5 miles was while running on the treadmill and saying, I'm just going to run until the end of this baseball game (2 more outs). Three innings later the game ended and I practically collapsed, but I kept at it. In the wintertime, I would prefer a treadmill than outside, the cold wind drives me nuts, but I don't have one, so I run outside, or use my stationary bike.
That's one thing we don't have to contend with--a lake the size of a small ocean that drives wind and snow.
Still we in the Panhandle don't have pesky obstacles blocking our view, like mountains and trees. HA!
Like you, I much prefer the outdoors, but the tread is as good as it gets sometimes.
Cheers to you, my friend!
Gregg
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