Running Outdoors

This past weekend Stacy, the girls and I went over to the Olympic Speed Skating Oval to workout.  It is wonderful to have such a state of the art facility within just waking distance from our house.  They have a nice 400 meter running track that goes around the ice.  It is a great winter training facility for running on something other than a treadmill.  That is all good, but I really struggle running anywhere but at the gym on a treadmill. 

I don't know if it is the cushion the treadmill offers me or if it is the consistent pace that it gives me, maybe it is both.  Last fall I went for an outdoor jog - it was a totally different experience, and not in a good way.  By the end of the day, I could barely walk due to the impact the run had on my back.  So, needless to say, I have been very hesitant to return to the great outdoors.  Now keeping in mind that the triathlon  I have registered for will require running outdoors, it is something I need to figure out.

So that brings me back to this past weekend.  Stacy and I both use the Nike+ chips to track our running distances.  While they are a great tool, they do need to be calibrated occasionally.  The readings I was getting on the Nike+ and the treadmill were way off, so it was time to recalibrate.  To  alibrate properly, youu have to do, it on a track or at least a measured distance.  Not sure why but for some reason you can't do it on a treadmill.  The running trak at the Oval was perfect for what we needed to do.

Everything went pretty well, although I didn't really get a true workout in due to trying to get the Nike+ calibrated.  I did feel somewhat comfortable with the track running.  While I didn't really run for more than a 1/4 mile at a time, at the end of the day my back wasn't causing me any problems.  I feel my biggest challenge is learning to pace myself effectively; I believe that I run faster than I should when I am not on a treadmill.  That will be a matter of training.  Stacy wants to sign up for a year membership for the family so that we can do that as a family more often.  I hope to make running at the Oval at least a weekly event so that I can start to develop those outdoor running skills.

On another note, I bought a bike last night.  It is a 2006 Scott CR1 Pro that I found on eBay, so I am hoping to receive it in the next week or so.  I feel that I got a great deal for a lot of bike, but in the event that it doesn't work for me I know that I will be able to flip it quickly in the Spring to get my money back.  I went and tried spinning today for the first time, trying out my new shoes.  It went pretty well. Over time I am confident I will be able to develop the  muscle memory I need.  I know that spinning and cycling are different things, but the basics of spinning are going to help me jump start my cycling skills.

So to bring things into perspective, I am running OK, I have started to spin, I have the cycling shoes, I now have the bike, so I am getting pretty close.  What's left, swimming?  So much to do so little time.