Skip the treadmill and just go outside

I’ve written a lot before about exercising at home, ways to get more use out of your treadmill, etc., but today I want to talk about something else.

Getting back to nature

As a single mom with two little kids, it’s sometimes difficult to get out and run like a maniac like I used to before I had kids.

I used to get up at the crack of dawn (sometimes before) and run around town before the rest of the world woke up. Granted, I didn’t get very far because I didn’t do this as often as I should have and was not in the best of shape and had little endurance.

BUT, it was great to get outside in the fresh air and be surrounded by nature while I ran. It was invigorating. I felt energized for the rest of the day. I felt like I accomplished something good that day. There was also a serene-like feeling of being surrounded by nature. Birds were singing. Leaves were rustling in the wind. If it was raining, the drops of cold rain felt amazing on my face. Pretty corny, but all very true. It feels great!

I’m so tempted to get up at five in the morning before my kids wake up and go running down by the river. I could never do this of course. That would be slighly horrible of me to leave my kids alone and unattended, even while they were sleeping. But if YOU have the opportunity, I encourage you to take advantage of it.

If you’ve never run a day in your life, then walk. Keep walking until you build up your strength and endurance enough to start running for short periods of time. I found that going between walking briskly and flat-out running was best. Jogging was out of the question. Jogging hurt my knees and feet and left my back aching for the rest of the day due to the “bouncing”.

Instead, I’d run as fast as I could for as long as I could, then walk for awhile until I was able to run again.

Running on the streets or sidewalks was usually my only option, but it’s best to find a trail or some grassy areas which will help absorb the impact as you run. When I run on grass or dirt I can go much farther and for longer periods of time as opposed to running on cement. It doesn’t jar your body the way cement does either so you won’t feel sore for the rest of the day.

It goes without saying that you should have proper footwear and clothing. Also – warming up, cooling down, and doing stretches is important if you want to avoid injuries.

I can guarantee you that running along a trail beside the river, through a forest, around a park, or wherever you can find, will be a much better experience than running on a treadmill. Not to mention a much better workout.