Ten laps equal one mile on the track at my gym.
On snow days when I can’t run outside I find myself going round and round like an old record player on that track.
Yesterday was one of them.
I ran 60 laps (yes, six miles) followed by one mile on the ‘mill. I don’t like being on the track that long, but it beats not running at all. And the treadmills were all taken when I first got there. I was on a time crunch. That’s why I only got one mile on the ‘mill.
Outside it was 5 degrees and snow-packed. Both my children’s schools were closed.
I prefer to run outside, but single-digit temperatures send me indoors. Actually anything below 20 degrees usually does it. The same goes for ice and snow-pack and running alone in the dark. It’s not worth it.
Last year I took a spill on the ice one morning and tore my tights and gashed my knee. I learned my lesson.
My other choice is to run for miles and miles on the gym treadmills, which have a 30-minute limit per user.
When it’s not too busy I can ask the staffers to stay on the ‘mills longer. It’s more tolerable because I can watch TV and run.
This month that won’t be happening for awhile — until the new year’s resolutions wear thin and the gym empties out.
In the winter the gym becomes my second home; the staffers are like family.
Usually it’s Joe, Steve or Mike, the employees on the early shift, who take my ID card at the cardio desk.
“I wish I could run like you, Danica,” Joe once told me after one of my workouts. He said he has a bad knee.
Joe and I often chat about what’s on the news. I like the treadmills best that have views of both TVs so I can alternate between watching CNN and Fox.
Steve is 75 and he’s been married for 54 years. I sometimes see him and his wife around town. When he’s not working at the gym he walks for miles on the track. He moves like he’s at least 10 years younger.
Mike is from North Carolina and he speaks with a kind southern drawl. Mike is his middle name, which he goes by instead of his first name. That’s common in the South, he once explained to me.
They may not realize it, but our casual conversations and seeing their friendly faces helps me get through my indoor workouts.
Some times I think of those guys when I’m running outside. I am grateful for them and the other staffers at my gym, always there, doing their jobs, when I arrive at o’dark early.
My winter training wouldn’t be the same without them, and I would not be as strong.
While I may not like running indoors, I like seeing them. I feel better and a sense of accomplishments when I finish.
Thanks to the help of Joe, Steve and Mike, perhaps a snow day here and there isn’t such a bad thing after all.
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Aging is inevitable, but growing old is a choice. Lace up your shoes, and let’s go!
Mileage yesterday: 7; Denver to Boston miles logged: 1,095; Miles left to go: 675.