I’ve managed to land a gym
membership this month and it’s a bit of a treat. I tend to do all of my running
outdoors, mainly on trails or pavements so I’m quite looking forward to being
able to run in the warm and dry.
Trails are fine in the summer ... |
I must remember NOT to do
what I did last time though, and bend down on the treadmill to tie my shoelace
before stopping the machine. I flew backwards nearly giving the chap on the
machine behind me a bum surprise.
I’m really looking forward
to it! I’ll be warm, it’ll be air-conditioned, there will be a cafe I can stop at
for a coffee afterwards and a jacuzzi I can laze around and relax in. Plus if I
need a loo stop, there will be toilets nearby. No more having to carry toilet
roll on long runs. Or looking out for a clump of shrubs with suitable ‘bushy’
branches!
But ... one of my pet hates
at races is that I always end up standing next to a stinky person. They’ve
blatantly just climbed out of bed and dragged their running gear on and come to
the race. In that situation, it’s a benefit as it means I start the race extra
fast to run away from them. But what if they’re running next to me on the
treadmill?
Or worse ... what if I fart?
I won’t be able to run away from it - no matter how fast I set the
treadmill. And people will KNOW that it’s me. And they’ll look. And gag.
At the gym, I do love that
it won’t matter whether it is dark outside. No matter what, I will not have
hi-viz gear flapping around my arms and I won’t leave the gym with the round
circle on my forehead that means I’ve had to wear my headtorch at some point in
the previous 3 hours. On one of my night races I even had a blister on my nose
where the headtorch kept slipping down and was bouncing off of the top of my
nose. It wasn’t a good look. Blisters are bad enough on your feet but I looked
a right tit with one on my face. Looked like an advertisement for Lepers R Us.
But … the gym will have
opening hours. It drives me mad when I’ve been busy all day then have to rush
to get to the gym because they close stupidly early at weekends. There was an
advertising campaign for one of the big sports companies where they said the
“Roads always open.” It’s true (except on the M1 …when I’m running late. Was
stuck on there for 6 hours once. Bloody M1) And they’re free. (Except the M6
toll … although I don’t think they charge runners.) I just have to get kitted
up and I’m good to go. No payments required, I don’t have to get on the road -
or off it - at a certain time and I don’t have to try and get one of those
stupid card passes to work to use it.
Also, I don’t care what
anyone says. If someone gets on the treadmill next to me, it’s a race. And they
know it. I either have to be going faster than them or stay on for longer than
them. One day an ultra runner will climb onto the treadmill next to me and
that’ll be it. They’ll be carving “She started throwing up and wet herself but
she still wouldn’t stop” on my gravestone.
Never realised you ran wind assisted lol :)
ReplyDeleteYep! I'm sponsored by British Gas - didn't you know?;)
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