A couple of weeks ago, my brother-in-law helped me move my treadmill from upstairs in my house to my garage. I used to do most of my running at mid-day, and it was nice to come home from work, turn on the TV, and run in front of the tube. At this point, however, almost all of my runs are in the morning; I’d have to take a really long lunch to get in a good run & shower at mid-day, despite working only a mile from my home. It is likely that during busy season, I will do exactly that. Last year I’d get to work at 6:00 AM and then take a long lunch during which I would exercise, and that worked quite well. In any event, busy season is a couple of months away, and I was looking for a way to get in a good run even on cold, rainy mornings. I can’t see wanting to do my long weekend runs on a treadmill, but it has been quite nice for my shorter, slower runs during the week.
For one thing, it’s nice not to have to fight hills while keeping my heart rate low. On the treadmill, I can pretty much just set a pace & leave it there. About half way through a run, my heart rate starts creeping up, so I adjust the speed downward accordingly. But apart from the small adjustment, the treadmill makes it easy to choose a heart rate and keep locked on it.
Having the treadmill in the garage has also reinvigorated my long-held, if long past, practice of reading while running. My running for the last couple of years has tended to be too fast to really be able to read, and it’s also easier to just turn on the TV & zone out when that has been an option. Taking away the TV, slowing down the pace, and the added benefit of the ease of reading on an iPad has revitalized my reading life.
The thing is, almost all that I have been reading over the past several months has been about running. Whether it’s directly about running, or about nutrition for runners, or in some other way related to running, that’s been about all I’ve found time to read (other than scripture). A week or so ago, I was running on the treadmill and reading Murakami’s What I Talk About When I Talk About Running. If you aren’t familiar with Haruki Murakami, he is probably the most prominent author of contemporary Japanese literature. What I Talk About… is perhaps his only non-fiction work. It is brilliant. I was thoroughly engrossed in his writing. Here is one of the greatest living novelists writing directly to my interests!
What I Talk About… is basically a memoir. And as a memoir of a novelist, he talks a great deal about writing novels. So, there I was, running, reading a book about what a novelist has to say about running. At some point. . . it just became absurd. I had pre-ordered (and since received) his long-awaited latest novel 1Q84 and was looking forward to getting around to it. But it had been a bit daunting. I don’t read a whole lot of fiction to begin with, because it takes a commitment of time that I’m usually only willing to give to non-fictional information. Since I don’t read a lot of fiction, it’s a skill that I somewhat lack. On top of that, 1Q84 is 944 pages, so quite intimidating indeed. Still, the absurdity of reading What I Talk About When I Talk About Running while running was just a bit too much for me. At some point, I just switched over to the novel. I am quite grateful that I made the switch. I had forgotten what a pleasure it is to read while on a treadmill -- how the time necessary to attack a long work is built in to the daily (or near daily) routine.
On the other hand, running on the treadmill more often than not lately, I have become aware just how much I love running on the street when I do so. Especially running in my Vibram FiveFingers, I love the connectedness that I feel to the ground when I’m on the street. For years, all I ever knew was treadmill running. I am thrilled that I took the show on the road last summer. Road running is fulfilling in a way that little else is.
So is reading novels.
I guess I’ll just have to strike a balance between the two. Surely, though, I will never again forsake the road.
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