When is it time to jump back on the treadmill?
Tweet
My wife and I play a little game each fall to see how long we can hold out before turning on the heat in our house. We’re lucky to live in the south where it’s not uncommon to make it to November without flipping the thermostat but this year we caved around October 30. But that got me thinking – how long can I go before jumping onto the treadmill for my daily jog instead of running outside?
I know what many of you may be thinking: Why would you EVER need to run on a treadmill in Atlanta? Does it ever even freeze down there? In answer to your second question, yes it does freeze here and we even get a couple light dustings of snow every winter. Answering your first question is a bit more complicated but suffice it to say that cold temperatures are relative. When I lived in Colorado a nice day for running in a t-shirt was upper-40s. Here in Atlanta I break out the tights, gloves, and wool cap.
But deciding to hit the treadmill instead of the asphalt can also be determined by the angle of the sun just as much as it is by the temperature on the thermometer. With the time change many of us see our workout schedules flipped from morning to evening or vice versa. Here on the western edge of the eastern time zone sunrise wasn’t happening until after 7am by late October and at least one runner I know used her treadmill to avoid the dark streets.
All of this is to say there’s really no shame in turning on the treadmill this early in the year. If the temperatures aren’t too cold for you yet, you may still be forced inside by early darkness in your time zone. Whatever the reason, don’t despair – at least you can catch up on your television shows while you run!