Sunday RunDay has come once again! Week three of training is officially in the books and I have created some new goals for myself already.

When I woke up today, there was snow on the ground. Not a significant amount of snow that would normally force me to go to the gym for my run, but still snow. There was a lot of debate with myself about where to run today due to the fact that it was 34 degrees and the wind was a little out of control. Do I really want to fight the wind for 5 miles and probably be discouraged and maybe not run as well today? The answer is always no. I headed to the gym to get on a treadmill.

I had a little bit of bad luck when I got there. Most of the treadmills at Anytime Fitness face out the window but I wound up on on of the treadmills that was in front of a wall. No big deal really. The treadmills at Anytime are really nice and I was able to watch Teen Titans on my TV as I ran.

My pace was much slower today than normal and I felt super slow. It has been an incredibly long time since I have run a significant amount of miles on a treadmill and I am coming to find that I struggle during those runs, even though the terrain is flat and I am able to monitor my pace much easier. It’s just so boring! To me, at least. I’m not trying to knock anyone who is an avid treadmill runner. I used to be able to handle it, but apparently not any more.

This is where my new goals come into place. I don’t think training on a treadmill is that beneficial for me. Thinking about it, my first ever half I spent a majority of my training on a treadmill and didn’t do so great in the race. My second half, I trained 99% outside instead of on a treadmill and I felt better and ran faster. I felt much better prepared and I didn’t have to walk-jog any of it. I know that the weather isn’t going to cooperate all the time during training, especially since the snow and cold temperatures will be coming. Getting up at 5am to run in the snow might not be my safest option. Afternoon runs after school is going to be part of my new plan. November through January isn’t the best time to be training for such a big race in Ohio but I’m going to make the most of it.