I started C25K to be able to go for a nice jog for half an hour or so in the woods or along by our beautiful lake... that was my goal. Long story cut short - I completed the programme outside (apart from W1 which I did in the house ), got injured, joined a gym so I could crosstrain while recovering, and recovered.
Since then I've been doing most of my runs on the treadmill after my fitness prog at the gym, and some outside with my Garmin. This year's weather has meant I was more often at the gym than not. (Okay, I know I'm a wimp...)
Today was different. I thought. 22° so not too hot, and last night's storm had cleared the air a bit. So off I went into the woods.
And it was just so difficult. Muggy as get out, no breeze, a lot of wood on the track after the storm, and it just wasn't fun. My initial aim of 4K or 30 mins went right out the window, the second my Garmin beeped for 3K, I stopped.
And then came the black thoughts... it's nicer at the gym... you can breathe better there... I like treadmilling... (and you get half an hour of guilt-free telly, like someone said a day or two ago)
This is NOT WHY I did this programme...
Someone give me ten good reasons why outside is good too, today I couldn't find a single one...
Oh well, onwards and upwards
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Mitts
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1) outside is less easy to give up; where ever you run to, even if it's 'only' 3k you still need to get home, so a 3k run out = a 3k walk back. If you're going in a circle make sure it's your 30 minute or 4k circle so you still need to get back if you don't run the whole way
2) less sweat; the wind (the wind of you running against the air even if there's no actual air movement) will dry some of the sweat, not so on the treadmill where I drip constantly.
3) no sweaty feet smell in the changing room; OK it may be stuffy outside until there's some air movement but no sock smell
4) flora and fauna: if you're jogging round the streets you can see people's front gardens and their pretty (??) flowers/hanging baskets: if you're out in the woods/fields there's the possibility of bunnies, deer, dogs that jump on you/frustrated owners desperately trying to get their dogs back.
5) rain to cool you: come on this IS Britain, or are you somewhere else?
6) limited interaction with other runners: nice to have the occasional 'hello', 'how you doing' etc (I ran the last 500m of parkrun yesterday with the lady I caught up, chatting, she'd been to Cornwall the previous week, ate lots of pasties, no running, was struggling) without having to talk/interact for the whole of the run coz the chatty person is on the next treadmill.
7) Legionnaires disease; isn't it a possibility where there's aircon? Don't get that outside, Weil's disease, dog bite, midges, flies, wasps, yes, but not legionnaires.
8) following on from 7) there's extra protein for your diet, free protein as well, all those flies you can catch and swallow if you need to keep your mouth open to breathe.
9) only on a Saturday, there's parkrun!
10) A repeat of 5) rain to cool you: come on this IS Britain, or are you somewhere else? Well, it'll rain more than once this summer.
11) You can check out the hedgerows, where the blackberries are, the elderberries etc. I'm trying desperately to remember where I saw loads of elderberries growing fat so when they ripen I can go and collect and make jam and wine this autumn.
Now, are you coming out for a run tomorrow morning?
12) lower carbon footprint; you don't need to get the car out for a run outside, you do if you drive to the gym
13) less money, unless you disregard 1) and get a cab home; you'll not have to pay bus fares or petrol or parking fees.
14) brown legs; half an hour or so every other morning means my legs are getting tanned, no more pasty white legs, and if 5) comes to pass they're really brown with mud stains!
15) up and down and slightly uneven terrain mean you're making full use of your leg and bum muscles, all of them, not just the ones used for running on the straight and flat.
I'll add on more reasons when I think of them.....
Great reply, although 2) didn't work for me today. It was cloudy and the forecast was for rain so I thought I could get away with a t-shirt rather than a vest, and shorts. It was deceptively hot, I don't think I've ever been so soggy from sweat alone - even the peak of my cap was soaked through ! I SO wanted it to rain - which it did, half an hour after I got back !
Your weather matched ours, right down to the rain! Looking at my Garmin upload I see the humidity was 83% so I feel a bit better about my 3K now!
Hi Mitts,
Sorry to hear you had such a frustrating run outside. Those conditions didn't sound like fun but I'll try to give my 10 reasons for running outside! The fact that running on a treadmill makes me feel nauseated (I think it is something to do with motion sickness) means running outside trumps inside running for me everytime (I was also thinking about the name 'tread' 'mill' and it sounds soul destroying!) but here goes:
1) Running outside is FREE - no gym fees, no opening times and no waiting around to use machines if it's busy (also no wiping other people's sweat off machines before you use them - yuck!)
2) When you run outside you can make up your own routes and explore new areas / streets / parks you've never been to before which for me is a lot more exciting
3) Read TJ Flute's blog about running on a Sunday healthunlocked.com/!/#couch... ; just tuning in to all the sights, sounds, smells and sensations around you is a brilliant distraction and changes everytime you go out. It's also the practice of mindfulness in a nutshell
4) I think running outside is more social, when you meet and greet other runners, walkers, cyclists - it helps me feel like I'm connecting more with my local community if that makes sense.
5) Breathing fresh air! I know on a muggy day that can be difficult, but I'd rather fresh air than an air conditioned gym which makes my nose and eyes dry out.
6) The vitamin D you get from sunlight - wards off low mood and SAD
7) Running in the dark - for some reason I love this! Getting all the reflective clothing out and making use of our dark winters and the cooler air
8) Not having to look at my beetroot, swollen face in a mirror for the length of my run!!!
9) Someone told me running outside burns more calories, but i'm not sure if this is true. Still, the illusion is enough to get me out there.
Thanks Newbie - like I said to Beads a bath and an ice lolly have cheered me up a bit! 3K is 3K and it was under hard conditions, the people I met all looked at me as if I was completely bonkers and maybe I was!
I'm looking forward to running better when it's cooler and if I do the odd short run in the heat then it's got to be good training, and like you say it's nicer outside. (Tho I still like treadmilling...)
Your sunlight point is actually really good, nowadays we all get too little time outdoors. I'll get back to my woods and my lake soon - but I think I'll wait till it's well under 20° for the next outside run, if I have another rotten one I'll be really p***ed off!
Ice lollies rarely fail to cheer anyone up I reckon! Glad you're feeling better and you had to start somewhere - 3k in muggy conditions is great and you could've turned back much sooner but you didn't.
I think we all sometimes forget how much the heat can floor us. Think how hard our bodies have to work to keep our core temperature steady (and that is in normal, day-to-day life) in hot weather and then we ask it to run! Plus, if you're like me, you find it harder to eat in the heat therefore probably have far less energy to expend. I did a very comfortable 5.2km on a cooler evening last week, then went out at 4pm in 25 degree heat this Tuesday and ached the whole way round at a snail's pace! As you say, waiting til the temperature drops a bit should make all the difference.
Mitts! This is not my Mitts talking. I shall give you a kick upon the sit-upon too now
1. 3K is fine after being laid up
2. 3K outside is different from 3k on a treadmill -- honest! Hubby does miles on the treadmill but cannot keep up with me outside
3. I know that you can watch telly while running indoors but crikey, you live in Switwerland, one of the most beautiful countries in the world for the flora;
Just count it off as a bad day. Pick yourself up. Brush yourself off. And get out there again on Tuesday!
Now half the challenge of running in hot weather is trying to keep to the shade -- i.e. dodging the sunny bits. Not easy. Thing is Linda, that if I stop now, I'll go back to the couch I was a year ago. Do not want to go there again.
So I have to face the Sunshine.
I seriously want to have a go at the 5 Tibetans when the weather cools down. Am thinking of getting someone to teach me and Becky. Cuts on sx elbow still hurt, I should have seen a doctor/nurse but, as I said, I'll get over it
Me neither - want to land on the couch again, I mean.
I'm really glad of this forum today - first a bummer of a run, then I spent the afternoon tackling a very knotty problem involving a gold chain bracelet and the bathroom basin drain... took me ages to dismantle it and then I couldn't find the bracelet and couldn't re-mantle the drain piping again. Was eventually forced to employ son nr 2 who did the whole thing in about half a minute including finding the bracelet... Where do they learn this stuff ???
Make sure you get a good Tibetans instructor, Delia, I'm sure you will, but apparently if you just barge in and try them yourself there's one you can do yourself a nasty injury with.
There's an ex-pat here (I suppose I'm not allowed to name him) but he taught me Tai Chi a while ago. a) he's a sweetie - not sure how old he is but definitely mid sixties at least. He may have grey hair and bad teeth, but what muscles and what grace b) he himself was taught by a very well known Chinese master back in the sixties and c) he was just brilliant with such a bull in a china shop like me! I am soooooo clumsy! I used to leave his lessons full of energy.
Sounds like exactly the right kind of person. I once had a young pony-tail trainer at the gym... she made me worse before I kicked her out. Too much enthusiasm can be a dangerous thing... or is that me being old and boring?!?
I never did tell you this but will now cos its worth 1 x 100 good reasons as far as I'm concerned. The guy on the dreadmill next to me had bad wind and had no hesitating in letting the wind blow free. I rest my case, outside is much much better. Sorry too much info I know
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), got injured, joined a gym so I could crosstrain while recovering, and recovered. 
Watch out for black ice😱
beating the black dog
Bright colours or serious black? 
The Black Dog Returns 
I thought it was a good idea...
