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Running in Bad Weather
May. 29th, 2011 10:37 pmI'm sort of in the habit of going for a jog once a week, but lately it's been so warm that I give in after only 20 minutes. I'm just not as macho as I used to be.
(I know, in most of the country, summer is the time when you can finally go running outside. But this afternoon when Robin was thinking about working on his car, he decided to put it off because it was 99 degrees. In May. Is this going to be an extremely long summer?)
I may be joining a gym again soon, and the ones I'm considering do have air-conditioning and treadmills. But treadmills are so boring. Normally I can stand them only when reading a book, which I can do while walking but which I suspect I cannot do while jogging. I can't remember whether I've actually tried before, but I certainly don't read when I jog to the bus stop, though I do read while walking to the bus stop.
So then I got the idea that maybe I could join the 21st century and get one of those new-fangled music devices with earphones. They are lighter than the Sony Walkman of the last century, plus they hold more songs. Robin explained that the iPod Touch costs only a little more than twice as much as an iPod Shuffle. And those come with a million extra functions.
But now I'm wondering whether I would even like such a thing. First of all, the best thing about listening to music is singing along. And that would defeat the whole purpose of having earphones to keep from inflicting one's music on everyone else. Would I like jogging along to music without getting to sing? I don't know. If not, could I find a compromise quiet humming that would be fun enough for me and inaudible enough for my unfortunate treadmill neighbors?
I also often don't like having things in my ears. It's not as bad when I'm not chewing (earplugs at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema are protective but feel weird when I'm eating). I think modern earphones are probably fairly comfortable. But even when you're bouncing up and down? Even in sweaty ears?
So, I have a question for those of you who jog or run: What do you do when the weather's bad (and/or when running indoors)? (Feel free to answer related questions, too, which I should have thought to ask. Or just tell me anything you like.)
(I know, in most of the country, summer is the time when you can finally go running outside. But this afternoon when Robin was thinking about working on his car, he decided to put it off because it was 99 degrees. In May. Is this going to be an extremely long summer?)
I may be joining a gym again soon, and the ones I'm considering do have air-conditioning and treadmills. But treadmills are so boring. Normally I can stand them only when reading a book, which I can do while walking but which I suspect I cannot do while jogging. I can't remember whether I've actually tried before, but I certainly don't read when I jog to the bus stop, though I do read while walking to the bus stop.
So then I got the idea that maybe I could join the 21st century and get one of those new-fangled music devices with earphones. They are lighter than the Sony Walkman of the last century, plus they hold more songs. Robin explained that the iPod Touch costs only a little more than twice as much as an iPod Shuffle. And those come with a million extra functions.
But now I'm wondering whether I would even like such a thing. First of all, the best thing about listening to music is singing along. And that would defeat the whole purpose of having earphones to keep from inflicting one's music on everyone else. Would I like jogging along to music without getting to sing? I don't know. If not, could I find a compromise quiet humming that would be fun enough for me and inaudible enough for my unfortunate treadmill neighbors?
I also often don't like having things in my ears. It's not as bad when I'm not chewing (earplugs at Alamo Drafthouse Cinema are protective but feel weird when I'm eating). I think modern earphones are probably fairly comfortable. But even when you're bouncing up and down? Even in sweaty ears?
So, I have a question for those of you who jog or run: What do you do when the weather's bad (and/or when running indoors)? (Feel free to answer related questions, too, which I should have thought to ask. Or just tell me anything you like.)