Running Outside

Although the East Coast is getting slammed by snow, here in Colorado the weather today was cloudless blue skies and a warm 65 degrees. Since today was a running day, I decided to try my running outside. Since I began Body for Life in August, I have run exclusively on a treadmill. The local recreation center is about a half mile from my house and is surrounded by open space & paved trails. There is a loop around a duck pond and soccer field that is about a mile. In my flabby pre-Body for Life days, I could sometimes eek out a one loop jog/walk. Today, it really hit me how in shape I am getting. I ran to the park,  ran 5 big loops &  ran up the hill  home. My ~6 mile run took 59 minutes. I feel much more optimistic about the feasibility of my running goals for 2005. I was (apparently unduly) concerned that running on a treadmill would in no way prepare me for running on cement, blacktop & uneven trails. However, I learned today, that treadmill running is infact great training.