yesterday i went to the gym to get a midweek walk in and decided to break in the new shoes. i hopped up on the treadmill and started plunking in information, hit GO and started my walk. this was the first time on the treadmill since hurting my back several weeks ago and definitely since i had started with the longer distance walks. about 6-7 minutes into it, i decided that i was really glad that the race was going to be outside, because i was so BORED!!!! i have decided that i really don't like walking on the treadmill for several reasons....
1) you can't just change your pace as you need to. if you decide to jog a little (which i did by the way), you actually have to push buttons to move up the speed, and if you get tired, you have to push them back down.
2) if you lose the knot in your shoe, it is a LOT harder to stop and tie it.
3) walking in the A/C is chilly and makes me unhappy
4) the TVs are really distracting and i almost fell off the stupid treadmill when i saw Brittany Spears looking crazed on Access Hollywood
5) i miss the trees and the birds and the breeze, it's amazing how much energy you get from seeing the beauty of nature
6) i don't push myself as hard or i push too hard. if the pace is too slow, i slow myself down to the pace of the machine. if i then try to speed up once i realize i am doing this and tire out, i am afraid i will fall off and look ridiculous
7) they are noisy. i have enough noise in my life...
so after about 22 minutes, i quit. i slowed the silly machine down and got off and went over to a cross training machine that is somewhere between a recumbent bike and a stair stepper and did about 15 more minutes of cardio to get my heart up. then i stretched for a while and went home. once i actually got home, all i wanted to do was take a real walk. so i leashed up the dog and went once around the block for her health and my sanity. i guess, if the weather really looks nasty, i will work out at the gym as needed, but as much as possible, i think my future walks will be the old fashioned kind, on a path.
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2 comments:
I agree! The treadmill is only better on REALLY gross, snowy or rainy days, and then only marginally. The time/distance goes by SO much faster outside...and it is much harder to fall off (and also you are much less likely to see Brittney Spears--phew).
You have become wise in your journey, Grasshopper. Seeing the world around you is certainly a nice side benefit to exercising outdoors.
Great to hear you are feeling better and you are back to your schedule.
It is hard to believe that you and I have something else to do other than watch an extra hour of TV.
Don't let your cross training make you cross.
Go Team!
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