Mother nature clearly has an awesome sense of humor. I'm thinking our weather since the first blizzard in December has been a subtle attempt at pushing the idea of an 'off-season'. And believe me... I would have loved it except for those 39.3 miles that waited for me in Orlando... and this whole 140.6 race in the fall.
While it wasn't my favorite, I can honestly say that having to do my longest Goofy training weekend (10miles on Saturday followed by 20miles on Sunday) all on a treadmill because of the 23+inches of snow that fell that weekend wasn't as miserable as I thought. Ideal no... but thanks to television-tolerable. However, the four recent storms (especially the two recent 'BIG' storms) have forced a return to the treadmill as triathlon training slowly gets underway and preparation for VA Beach Shamrock 13.1 continues... and it SUCKS! For some reason I have lost my ability to run. (MUCHO props to a certain J.O. who is also training for VA Beach... first 13.1... and has taken our forced treadmill running like a champ... ROCK OUT!) While I understand the 'differences' between running on a treadmill and outside... my new inability to run has nothing to do with these mechanics. My body is just on strike. If it can annoy, distract, bother, hurt, etc while I am running on the treadmill... it does! My newest annoyance... the treadmills at the gym in my apartment building. They seem like they are perfectly good treadmills... even have individual TVs attached... BUT THEY AREN'T! I spent four miles running on them yesterday 'convincing' myself that I need to join a 'real' gym because the treadmills would be better and I wouldn't feel so crappy. They may look the same, but the treadmills at Bally's across the street... better!
To make matters worse, it appears as though my bike trainer and the stationary bike in the gym downstairs also want to get in on the action. What could be better you say than jumping on your trainer for a great workout (thanks DC Tri Club for some good bike trainer workouts) while watching TV in your own living room? How about... just about anything!! =) Suddenly the bike seat which has been good for hours of previous biking... just doesn't feel comfortable enough. Getting down in aero position doesn't feel right (ok... to be honest, this is more mental than anything... still feel uncertain since the great crash of '09). I can't seem to adjust the resistance perfectly. TV volume is too high/low. Wait... can't reach my cell phone. And on and on and on... The stationary bike in the gym downstairs hasn't joined the revolt 100%. It still is comfy and I can watch quality TV such as Charmed and Ghost Whisperer (no comment!), but I kinda feel like I am cheating and that working out on it doesn't really count-even when I jack up the resistance and feel the burn! (haha)
The good news is that neither winter nor the icy, snow covering won't last forever. Trails and sidewalks will become clear for running again... salt and sand will be washed away to make way for biking. Clearly there is something magical about running and biking outside and my body wants that magic back. (Sadly the magic isn't powerful enough to make me faster at either biking or running, but I suppose that is asking too much!) But until that happens, the indoor training monsters must be dealt with... at least until their close relatives...the nasty, humid hot weather monsters of the summer take over. =)
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