Why in the world would anyone run indoors without being on a treadmill?! That was my thought process too. Until last night. When I ran a mile inside my house, in the kitchen.
Lately, running outside has been part of my every day routine. I’m wrapping up a 30-Day Challenge to run every single day. People have been doing this long before me, with “run streaks” being an actual thing. People go hundreds and even thousands of days without missing a run. Typically the minimum run distance for it to “count” is 1 mile. This seems easy enough, but then you realize there are busy days, travel days, sick days, and many others that pose incredible obstacles to overcome! These people are crazy! And yesterday I took a small step into their ranks.
Running outside, on trails, preferably in the forest is my ideal. Its beautiful, ever-changing, you get to be moving through space, there are animals and weather and all kinds of things to encounter, and you can go as fast or as slow as you prefer. Its wonderful! Running inside my kitchen is nearly the opposite of this. It’s ok looking, never-changing, you still get to be moving through space but it doesn’t really feel like it, there are no animals, no weather, no things to encounter besides maybe the fridge and dining room table, and your speed is severely limited! This was the element that was actually the toughest, the speed limitations.
So why did this happen!?
Well, we have a baby. And the baby is not able to be safely left at home alone. No one else was home with me and baby and it was getting late. Knowing I would not allow my last 26 days straight of run streak go down the drain, something had to happen. Then it hit me! People have been running indoors more than ever because of the global pandemic! Time for me to give it a shot. This way the baby and baby’s monitor are within reach, plus I get to accomplish the goal. Win-win!
So I set about finding the longest area of our house, measuring off a distance, marking it off on the floor with blue painters tape, and getting my running shoes on! The distance available for running was only 20 feet. A full mile is 5,280 feet. So that meant that I would have to cover the tiny distance 264 times. Back and forth back and forth! I started the camera to record the event for a YouTube video (which can be found here: https://youtu.be/E56HiTnk7Jw) and set off!
Initially it felt easy, relatively fast, and was nice and cool to be indoors! After about 100 reps back and forth along the path, not so much. After 200 I was actually getting tired and sweaty! This was a surprise since I somehow expected to feel comfortable and cool the entire time. Before long it was already done!
20 minutes and 36 seconds. My first, best, and only indoor mile running Personal Record! Ha! My heartrate was definitely lower than a normal outdoor run. I think that’s due to the fact that 20 feet is not long enough to get up to any kind of significant speed or momentum. The overall exertion level remains low. It was tougher on my feet and ankles than a normal run though. Or at least different. Changing directions 262 times (because the first and last rep don’t require a change of direction) was essentially a lot of starting and stopping. Writing this post the morning after, I notice my feet are actually a little sore! Interesting!
Would I recommend an indoor (non-treadmill) run? Definitely not! But in a pinch, it works!!
Abacus Fitness and Money 