apparently I have had this thought before, because I already joined this comm

[alexseanchai]

So I walked a 5K yesterday. 56:28, and too nearly last (out of about two hundred registrants, 139 of whom were walking) for the comfort of my pride. In an effort to salvage said pride, I picked up a book for beginning runners at the library (authored by the Sport Medicine Council of British Columbia, so I figure they know what they're talking about) that has a thirteen-week program, three sessions a week of run X minutes walk Y minutes repeat Z times (and the final session is run a 10K). I'm planning to start that Tuesday. Or maybe Saturday. (Y'know. Once I'm over the ow ow ow from doing too much in the 5K and without stretching properly first. I'm not sure what I was trying to prove but I don't think I proved it.)

My question is, should I run around the neighborhood or should I run on the treadmill at the neighborhood gym? It'll be easier to track time and distance on the treadmill, and walking the three blocks to and from will serve as a warm-up and cool-down, but the scenery is...not exactly scenic. Not that my neighborhood is a particularly pretty one, but at least the view changes as I move, you know? And I'm not sure which will bug me worse, repeatedly pressing a button to change the treadmill speed (I don't know if there's a way to change the speed on these treadmills other than by increments of 0.1 mph) or repeatedly changing and resetting the timer app on my tablet.

So treadmill sounds better at first blush, but I'm wondering if there are other reasons to prefer sidewalks to treadmills.

(Wish me luck, y'all, I'ma need it if I'm actually going to get and stick with the program this time...)

Comments

[nanila]

I like both treadmill and outdoor running and tend to mix the two. Treadmill running because it means I can go to the gym at unsociable hours and/or when it's dark (especially useful in winter) and feel pretty safe. I also find that when I'm a gym member, I actually do run regularly, partly because I need to justify the expense to myself, and partly because I get into a routine, usually of getting up to go in as soon as it opens. I find it more difficult to stick to a routine when I'm running exclusively outside. I'd say try both.

Oh, another nice thing about rolling out of bed and going straight to the gym is that it takes some of the boredom out of it, since I'm not really awake until I shower and leave!

[alexseanchai]

The neighborhood gym is actually membership-free, I just need to have community center access. Which is to say, live in the neighborhood. Maybe if I belonged to the Y, the need to justify the expense would keep me going, but I dunno. I've never had a gym membership.

Thanks for the advice!