running free

monday through friday, i run on a treadmill. i do it during lunchtime at the gym downstairs from my office. i have free gym access and it's really convenient. running for lunch means one less thing i have to do when i get out of work. so when i get home, i don't have the task of a daily run staring me down. i used to do other things during lunch but now i wonder how i ever filled an hour of free time in between the work day so well. it's also nice that on most days, there's not too many people in the gym. for the most part, i like running and exercising alone.

however, the grind of running in place on a treadmill everyday can become a little monotonous. and when the weekend rolls around, i usually run in the park near my house... and it's awesome. i feel like an animal suddenly uncaged and back out into the wild. there's fresh air (well, as fresh as the fine state of new jersey can provide), people, and actual distance being made with each thrust of my legs. there's stuff to look at... trees, a lake, geese, ducks, dogs, and all other sorts of stuff that a gym at the office just can't provide. if i could only run one certain way, on a treadmill or outdoors, for the rest of my life, i'd choose outdoors by a landslide margin.

when i started running, i used to run outdoors a lot more. i'd run after work. but i didn't run as often. the wear and tear of the average work day would beat me into submission and so many days i'd decide to sit on my ass and run the next day. when i started running at lunch, i ran out of excuses. i had the time. there's really nothing better i could be doing with that time either. the gym's right downstairs.... it was easier to not give in to not running. so a new tradition was born. this may be one of my bigger phases of progression in my experiences with running. suddenly i was stringing 5, 6, sometimes 7 days of running in a row... something i'd hardly ever done before then.

so while running indoors on a treadmill seems like the lamer option of the two, it has its advantages and i totally believe it's made me a better, more consistent, and more dedicated runner. also, it's pretty awesome to plug in the headphones and blast music and find something productive to do with some of my work related aggression. if i'm having a bad day at work, it's usually a whole lot better once my lunch time run is over.

but there'll always be a lot more joy and anticipation for the outdoor runs. there's so much going on when i'm running outdoors. it feels more natural. i feel more in tune with myself and my surroundings. i usually run way longer distances on the weekend than i do during lunchtime at work so it makes it feel like more of an event. and with an outdoor run, you're never exactly sure what you're gonna get. the weather's always changing and i just keep running through it all, t-shirt and shorts in the summer, hoodie and hat in the winter.

it's fall right now and i'm convinced fall is the best season for runners. summer runs can be so grueling. a lot of times when i'm running in the 90 degree heat, i think to myself, "fall's coming soon enough. it won't always be like this." outdoor fall runs are probably the best runs of the year. so if there was ever a time to embrace running outside, off the treadmill and free, it's right now.