Road warrior to treadmill warrior

As I mentioned in my last post, running in south florida sucks. Now that "spring" has turned to summer it is even worse. I have decided to move to the treadmill. It has been an interesting transition as I have dreaded the treadmill throughout the years. Often it is boring and doesn't feel like my natural running flow.

Over the last 2 months I have been able to adjust to the change. I have been able to run for longer distances without having to stop. Although my pace has been slower than when I was running on the road  most recently it is faster than when I ran outside last summer. My average distance completed has also been much higher. One of the things I have added to make running on the treadmill more bearable is adding watching tv instead of just music or staring at the wall. This has contributed to me getting extra miles in as I get caught up in the show that I just keep running,

Overall, it still isn't as fun but it is serving the purpose of keeping me moving. I don't think I will be beating any records with this but I am also not losing my fitness, which is the main purpose of my running. I have also been adding in speed work once a week and doing those outside. I have been surprised at the quality of those workouts despite me running on a treadmill most days.

Pros:
Running everyday
Run anytime of day (vs night or early morning for outside)
High miles per run
staying healthy
more comfortable environment
more tv time

Cons:
Inside
controlled enviromnent (no hills, heat, change ups)
slower average mile
Not building speed
more tv time

Back to Running again, for now

I have gotten more free time lately due to COVID-19 and the slow down at work. I have gotten back into a regular running schedule since the new year but have now been able to pick up the training. Here are my thoughts from lately:

Running in South Florida Sucks:
-It is always hot (a few cools day but still)
- You need to run before Sun rise or after Sunset
-Both options suck. You either have high humidity or heat and often both
-I hate treadmills
-No good trails to run
-How did I ever run cc down here? Maybe that is why I sucked so much.
-No elevation unless you find a bridge.... I think everyone knows this but makes trying to change things up a bit harder and isn't much worse then South Georgia
- I miss the South Georgia Running Community. I haven't has luck finding one I gel with here.

Running as I have gotten older:
- I use to be pretty fast, comparatively ( I didn't often feel that way, although I didn't feel slow either)
- I use to workout hard- I knew that but man did I put the effort in. I find it hard now to do (lack of community? Accountability?).
- 15-20 lbs makes a difference and is harder and harder to keep off
- I eat bad.... Well really I eat to much and that doesn't help with the above issue
-I don't care to race so much as to be healthy and have a positive outlet. Although putting a race on the schedule has motivated me to run more consistent and have something to work toward in the past.

Making Running exciting while alone :
- I play little games on my runs. This has gotten me out of the habit of running the same boring route every day and gotten me to explore new areas of the neighborhood.

• Try to not  run down a dead end
• Run down every dead end
• Don't run on the same street twice. 
• Try to run a mile in a random neighbor hood
• guess how long a street is
• Try and run down every street in a neighborhood
• I always used running as a way to relieve stress or think about something that is going on or get always from thinking about something that is going on. I don't drink, I don't smoke, have many other hobbies and running has always been my outlet. 
• You get the point.

2016 Devil Take The Hindmost run, FSU's Mike Long Track

This past weekend I had an opportunity to participate in a unique event in Tallahassee. I missed out on it last year since I was out of town. Even though I was origanlly suppose to be on the other side of the country I was excited to get a chance to do it this year. 

The race is straightforward the person that is last each lap is taken by the "Devil". Or shall I say the lady dressed in a devil costume. Every two minutes starts a new lap & you have to have completed the previous lap before the next one starts. So In addition to not being the last finisher you had to finish each lap in 2 minutes as that is when the next lap starts.

After arriving at the beautiful FSU track, Alisa and I changed into our running attire. We started with a warmup and some basic stretching. Alisa & I discussed our goals. Mine was to make it at least 8 laps. Hers was to not be the first one snatched of the track as she had spent the earlier part of the day zipping around town on a bike workout. 

Participants and innocent bystanders started to gather near the start line to see the Devil snatch away the unlucky runners each passing lap. Us runners received a two minute warning to the start of our journey to hell. The race started with the Devil leading the 23 participants in an untimed opening lap. After that the clock was turned on and we were off. The first timed lap was slow @ about 1:45. Everyone was being casious which lead to a sprint to the finish. Alisa made the cut & wasn't the first one gone. Unfortunately she fell victim to her bike workout & the devil got her.

I breezed through the first mile with the same easy pace & kick to end the lap. The pace picks up some each passing lap as the feild begins to shrink. At 8 laps I was feeling a little hot but good. Alisa brought me over some water as we started the next few laps.

By lap 10 the pace was now getting into the mid 80 second range. After 11 I was starting to feel the heat. By 12 I felt done.  I even started the 13th lap a second or two behind as I contemplated dropping out. Hey, I made it further than my goal. But I went for it. At 150 meters into the lap I was about 10 meters behind the next runner, with me being in last. At 200 meters I decided to go for it & sprinted. I managed to catch & pass the feild finishing the lap in first. Unfortunately I still fell victim to the Devil, as I didn't start the next lap. I finished tied for 9th place with two other runners, one that was in last at the end of the lap and another runner that couldn't go on like me. The rest of the participants kept it going, picking up the pace each lap until only one was left.

Overall it was a fun and novel race to get a good workout in. In retrospect I should have at least started the next lap instead of dropping out. This is especially true since I had 40 seconds left between the laps & threw in the towel to early. Maybe next year I can outrun the Devil. 

Photos courtesy of Herb Wills check out his blog for more about the race: http://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2016/07/devil-2016.html?m=1