Running on a treadmill

I used to listen to a song by Oingo Boingo that has the lyric "I'm running on a treadmill after you, I'm running on a treadmill..."

I started running this week, on a treadmill, and it feels just fine. Winter is winding down around here, or so it appears, and if there is one thing I know about endurance training it is this, only the sissies train inside.

That said, I am training inside until it warms up.

For the longest time I trained outdoors on a bike. I am riding in the mornings on my indoor bike and running at night at a gym in my building.

I bring this up for a couple of reasons. One, I am being inundated with email and I am avoiding even reading it and second, while not a new years resolution, I wonder why more people do not like to sweat.

If you like to get high, and this is America where everyone seems high on something, sweating brings out the best high I have ever experienced. In fact, one doctor I spoke to many years ago accused me of being an endorphan junkie.

"Hi, my name is Matt and I am an addict."

An interesting thing I think people miss out on is that the energy expended to get and stay in shape is always returned to you. That is, I wake up at 6 or so and ride my bike before I do anything else. No breakfast or coffee, nothing. Well, I do stretch first. The energy I use riding follows me throughout the day, I am stronger and more alert after riding a lot that I ever am by just getting decent sleep and going to work.

The other thing I think all of us who have put on extra weight face is how long it takes to get in shape. It took me a couple of years of not really paying attention to being in shape to gain about 20 extra pounds of fat. I should not expect to lose it in a few weeks. That said, our bodies do respond well to abuse. When I was riding a lot a few years ago I liked beating my body up. Already, these twice a day workouts are making me stronger and I have yet to sustain any sort of injury, but I am prepared for it. I know injuries are out there, pulled muscles, things like that. What I learned in training previously is to never allow injuries to slow you down. I do not believe in resting injuries, I believe in defeating them.

Unless you crash and land on your head. Then all bets are off.