Realization

This week has been a great week for workouts. I'm a bit surprised, considering it's my first week back at work; I thought I would be too tired to get all my training in.

Monday
In the evening, I had a 1hr yoga class and I actually convinced my husband to go with me. He said, "It wasn't bad - it's just not my thing", which is code for, "Surprisingly, I actually enjoyed it." I don't think he'll be coming back though. I followed that up with a run outside in the freezing cold. It was awful, just awful, and it left me dreading my next run.
Tuesday
I went to the gym in the evening with my friend V (yes, she's still my friend, even after the Iron Strength workout I made her do). We did a quick upper-body workout and guess what! I tried to do a pull-up and I was able to bend my elbows a bit! Sounds lame, but this is huge progress for me. After the gym, I went into town for my spinning class. It was the first class of the winter session, so there were a lot of new people. I love the instructor - he gives a challenging class and I always feel great afterwards (tired but not dead). Well, he managed to scare away two people who left mid-class and didn't come back. Wimps.
Wednesday
Wednesday was a rest day; well, rest from workouts at least. After a full day of teaching in Jonquiere, I had my first class with one of my new private students (ESL). I'm very pleased with how it went and she seems quite happy with what I can offer her. After that, I went to see my chiropractor, to check on the tendinitis in my knee (among other things). He was impressed with my improvement and though it's not quite 100% yet, it hasn't been giving me any trouble while I've been running - yay!

Now, the realization. After Monday's awful, freezing cold run, I realized that I was sacrificing the quality (and enjoyment) of my runs just to continue doing them outside. Living where I do, it's not practical to run outside throughout the winter. Sure, it can be done, but at what cost? This week, for example, we had -25*C/-14*F temperatures and that's before the windchill. That's par for the course here, especially in January and February. I was lucky enough to be able to run through December without any serious difficulty, but reality has set in. It's cold here and that's not going to change for several months. Like I said, I could do it, but what am I really accomplishing?
I'm also fed up of running around my neighbourhood (2 mile loop) and since it gets dark ridiculously early here, I don't have any other options unless I get in the car and drive to town. Also, the rural road where I used to run is now covered with snow and the shoulders are taken up by snowbanks. When I was doing shorter runs, the 2 mile loop was ok. But as my runs get longer, the 2 mile loop just isn't cutting it anymore.

Thursday
That all being said, for Thursday's run, I decided to do it on the treadmill. Yes, on the dreadmill. And guess what? I actually enjoyed it. It was one of the best runs I've had in a while. I wasn't bundled up so much that it took a ridiculous amount of energy just to move. I actually had access to water and my Sport Beans, which would have been impossible outside (since upon removing your gloves, your fingers freeze almost instantly and you have zero dexterity). I was able to run at a decent pace, something that's been lacking in my outside runs. I also listened to a marathon training podcast, which not only took away a lot of the boredom but also provided some interesting information and tips. All in all, I think I made the right decision. I'm sure there will be some days when it isn't so cold and I'll be happy to take my run outside then. But, I think I'm going to be sticking with the treadmill for the next couple months.