The Gift of the Treadmill

I am so excited that the weather is taking a turn for the better so I can start doing my runs outside. For the last two months the majority of my runs have been on the treadmill. When I first contemplated the idea of running indoors I was filled with dread and anticipated fatigue. The thought of being on a treadmill for over an hour was torturous. My treadmill limit at the beginning of the year was about 20 minutes. After that I mentally would start to break down. But I had two choices, I could run outside in the snow and ice (which had the potential of slowing me down significantly) or I could run inside on a treadmill. I chose the treadmill.
At first I would play mental tricks with myself to make the time go faster and then I moved on to playing with the speed button. Staying at one pace for any significant period of time is absolutely miserable to me. After two months of this type of training I started to feel more comfortable with my once dreaded foe. I started looking forward to our times together.
Yesterday, I was surprised to discover that when I had to make a decision between running outside (it was amazing weather) or going to the gym. My heart started leaning toward the treadmill. I realized in that moment that the reason for this was because I like predictability and routine. A part of me wanted to keep things that same and even doubted that I could even run outside as well as I did indoors. This of course is ridiculous because I still have two legs, the same heart, and the motion is almost exactly the same.
One of the things I love about running is that you have to face your fears and doubts all the time. With running there is always a goal and depending on the day, your mood, the weather, or your body, there is always a chance that you won't meet that goal. Facing this fear always makes you stronger.
Anyway, back to yesterday. I finally decided to run outside. My daily run was a 3 mile speed run. Earlier that day, I had driven around mapping out my 8 mile route for my Sunday run and I had taken note of different mile markers for future runs. I clearly remembered where the 1.5 mile point was and so I decided to run there and back to my house. I started my clock and took off. Since I have been running on the treadmill, which tells me my pace all the time, running outside again seemed a bit awkward mostly because I had no idea how fast I was going. After about a mile, I looked at my watch at it was at exactly 8:00. I decided to not look at my watch again until the finish and just keep in the rhythm I was in. I sprinted the last half mile home and looked at my watch...20:00. Something was wrong! There was no way I could have done 3 miles in 20 minutes. I must have remembered the mile markers wrong. Being who I am, I got in my car and measured the distance I had just run. Pulling into my driveway the odometer read 2.5 miles. I felt annoyance and joy at the same time. Annoyance because I was suppose to do 3 miles and didn't and joy because I did 2.5 miles in 20 minutes!!!
Reflecting on my run, I realized that my once dreaded enemy..the treadmill, had actually given me a gift in the last two months....speed. I was able to run faster outside than I do on the treadmill. My confidence in running outside has returned. Today for the fun of it, I ran to the gym, worked out, and ran back home. It was glorious. An unplanned run on a sunny day is amazing.