OK, so it’s been almost three days since my last post, which is about a day longer than I would have liked. I was aiming to post sometime yesterday morning, but that plan fell by the wayside once I got to work. I was at the office until about 7 last night getting caught up on stuff, and that left little time to update the blog. But today is a little better. I think this afternoon I might actually have some time to relax and not feel like I have 1 million things that must be done by 5 PM.
Monday was a typically crazy day at work and I was really looking forward to getting some QT in on the treadmill. I got home about 6 PM, changed and was out the door and to the gym by roughly 6:15. I was all set to get running when I got to the gym only to discover that every treadmill was occupied. Mondays are always bad at the gym because all the fat people feel bad for sitting on their butts all weekend/their lives and decide to go to the gym on Monday at 6 PM. So they go and walk at 1.3 mph on the treadmill for an hour and then go back home and eat a half-gallon of ice cream. Awesome. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper. (As a side note, I know that that’s just how it is at a gym, etc etc, but this is my blog so I can complain as I see fit) So I got on the stationary bike to go for a nice ride when my iPod decided to freeze and then not reset like it’s supposed to. At that point, I was fit to be tied so I just went home and spent several hours trying to figure out what was wrong with my iPod. Eventually I just let the battery run down and then recharged it at work yesterday. Worked like a charm. This is just one reason why the Mac will never compare with PC’s. I know Macs are great, but when you can’t keep an iPod from freezing, how are you going to keep servers up and running?
Anyway, this has once again opened up the debate over running in the morning or the afternoon and running indoors versus outdoors. Schedule-wise, I like running in the evening because otherwise I have to get up ass early so I can show and be at work by 8-8:15. However, in the morning, no one’s awake and the gym is emptier and my run can be accomplished with minimal interference.
Running indoors is great because it’s a controlled environment that is always available regardless of weather. The downside is that there is a limited quantity of treadmills and treadmill running is still markedly different from running on asphalt or dirt, etc. Running outdoors simulates race conditions and offers lots of variety in running routes. The downsides are unpredictable weather, crowded sidewalks (if running in a city), dodging cars, and not being able to get into a real groove due to pedestrians and cars/intersections. In Baltimore I would add the relative safety of running indoors, although it’s not as if runners are being mugged at will.
So, I am back where I was back in July: To run in the morning or afternoon? Indoors or outside? I won’t go running outside in the afternoon because of the traffic, pedestrians, etc. It’s a waste of time because you’re starting and stopping and dodging and it’s just not running. So that leaves me with running outside in the mornings. We’ll see if I find the motivation to get up and do it, though. Not likely this week since I’ve been pulling long hours at the office each day. Next week promises to be much better so maybe then.
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