The Great Outdoors

It is absolutely beautiful outside today in Hartford! It's 80 degrees and sunny. Of course, I've been locked up inside all day working so I haven't had much of an opportunity to enjoy, but I opened my office window for some fresh air!

From what I've been told, this is great running weather. But there's just one catch — I've been training completely indoors so far. Because I started my training in January, there was no way I was going to take on cold and snow as I learned to run. Now I have no excuse, other than the fact that the treadmill feels more at home.

The official start of Team In Training's fall season is in a couple of weeks. At that point, I'll have no choice but to run outside, because the group runs are at the West Hartford Reservoir. Part of me wants to attempt to venture out on my own, but in all likelihood, I think I'll stick to the familiar while I still can!

One of my biggest concerns about venturing outdoors is pacing. When I attempted to run the Chase Corporate Challenge a couple of years ago, I had great time on my first mile, but used up all my energy quickly and had to resort to walking. The treadmill feels safe because I tell it how fast I want to go, and it makes sure I can't go any faster or slower.

The closest I can get to that outdoors is GPS tracking. I have a great app for my phone that can do it, but no way to carry my phone! The Droid isn't exactly the smallest, sleekest phone on the planet. It also doesn't have an official armband, which poses a challenge. Guess I'd better do some research for purchasing one, because the marathon isn't going to happen on a treadmill!