Don't get me wrong, I love snow.
I am not averse to the odd snow day here and there, especially as I can very easily work from home and so don't have to battle against icy roads and traffic jams. It makes everything look pretty, and a snowy welly walk all wrapped up, followed by a big fat roast and a cuppa is one of my most favourite things.
However, I would really rather like it to bugger off now please and thank you very much!
Because of the snow, I missed out on catching up for a cuppa and a gossip (and most importantly, a massive hug) with my friend Zeph last Friday. She is undergoing chemo for breast cancer and as such, the timing of meet-ups has to be carefully arranged in order to coincide with 'good days', and this meeting was arranged before Christmas!
Not only that but I couldn't even put my afternoon off to good use and head out for a run instead, because the snow was coming down thick and fast and I knew how difficult it would be, not just underfoot but visibility-wise.
On Saturday we ventured into Wokingham, and I got myself a couple of pairs of new trainers, hurrah! I got a pair of Ascics for 'clean' runs, and a pair of Adidas trail shoes for the majority of my running through the muddy university land. The roads and paths around town were not too bad, although slippery in places, however our road (which is a cul-de-sac) was, and still is, a white snowy ice-rink. As are the paths around here. Because of that I had to face the fact that if I was going to run at the weekend (given my track-record of clumsiness), it was going to have to be on a treadmill.
There isn't much in life I dislike more. I think I even prefer the dentist or needles. Hell, I even think I would prefer an afternoon of DIY over an hour on a treadmill!!!!
So it was with some reluctance that I found myself in the work gym on Sunday morning. There are two treadmills, and surprisingly one of them was in use (I know, I am plainly not the only nutter at Symantec!) but the one I normally use was free. I soon discovered why when I realised it wasn't turned on. Luckily for me, the man who was using the other treadmill was just about to finish, and when he did he told me that the treadmill I normally use is currently out of action. So a stroke of luck really that he was just finishing as I arrived.
There are many reasons why I dislike treadmill running;
- It is dull.
- I always find myself running at an unnatural pace.
- The gym is a LOT warmer than outside.
- It is dull.
- There is nothing to look at, the view never changes.
- I find myself looking at the dials, and am always disappointed that it has only been 30 seconds since I last looked and not the 5 minutes it feels like!
- It is dull.
- I always feel like I am running faster than normal, however it nearly always takes me longer to cover the same distance.
- I don't know how to program the treadmill, and after an hour on the 'quick-start' setting, it assumes you are done and instigates a warm-down. I have no idea how to override this!
- I miss the feeling of having been out and about in the fresh air.
- It is mind-numbingly dull!
I definitely think that running on a treadmill is less of a physical challenge than running outside, but much much more mentally challenging.
Anyway, I managed 10k on the dreadmill, and then to make up for the lack of fresh air and cheer myself up, I headed out for a beautiful snowy walk with my best friends (followed by that roast and cuppa no less).
Now today I really don't know what I should do - risk a tentative run outside (it is currently snowing, again) to try out my new trail shoes, or head to the gym and another dreadmill session. My heart wants to head out into the snow, but my head is telling me that I am a clumsy oaf and should stick to the treadmill once again. What to do?!!!!