Gym vs. Outside

I really cannot figure out if I enjoy running outside more or at the gym more. There are pros and cons to both and make for really interesting training sessions. Let me break it down for you:

THE GYM

Pros: Televisions on the treadmill. Nothing justifies trashy television more than watching while working out. It's not my fault I watched 3 straight episodes of 16 and Pregnant - I had a long training run!

Cons: Sometimes I wonder if it really is running when the ground is moving along with you. I feel like 26.2 miles would be a lot easier if you had the pavement working with you.

Pros: The people. There are certainly some characters at the gym that can also entertain you while working out. I personally find myself really entertained by the guys who make a lot of noise while lifting weights. Especially when they're not lifting heavy weights. Someone should inform them that making all that noise does not make you stronger.

Cons: The people. Then there are some people who I wish they turned away at the door. Tonight I was on the eliptical next to Jack Osbourne. Not modern Jack Osbourne, the one who has quit drugs and is now some sort of elite athlete. The one who drank Jack Daniels and hung Kimberly Stewart's breast implants on his wall. (I was a BIG Osbourne Show fan in college.) And this kid smelled. I couldn't quite put my finger on it but it was kind of like dirty laundry that comes back in your suitcase after vacation. The worst people though are the ones who smell like they bathe in cigarettes. I just want to be like "Why don't you lay off the smokes and then come back to work out? It'll be much more effective."

Outside

Pros: The fresh air. First thing in the morning runs are my favorite. I love the feeling that no one else has tainted anything yet and I get the best part of the day all to myself.

Cons: The humid air. Summer in New England can make it tough to experience the fresh air stated above. The humidity recently has been killing me and I feel like I need an inhaler and I don't even have asthma.

Pros: The quality of training. I feel like I accomplish so much more when I run outside. The unexpectedness of the terrain, the hills, the dirt. I really feel like I am becoming a better runner when I run outside.

Cons: It's hard. I am not going to lie. There have been a LOT of runs I have done outside that I really have to fight to finish. Unlike the treadmill, I feel like sometimes the road is working against me. Like it has some sort of vengence against me because I drive on it and put stress on it, it's doing all it can to pay me back. Listen, road, you were put down to be driven on. Start being nicer to me. Maybe you could even start moving like the treadmill!

Until next time.....