Today I headed to the Y bright and early with the young ones. I couldn’t make it out of bed at 5 and slept until 6:15, which was too late to get in a good 4 to 5 miler, abs and arms workout before the kids woke up.

I am not one to get overly excited about a treadmill workout. This is my third or fourth since joining the gym and I’ve noticed a few things:

1. I get bored quickly and easily when running inside
2. I run too fast too soon when running inside
3. I burn out quickly . . . when running inside

I’m happy to report that today’s run was totally different. My plans: 4 miles. The end result: 5! And, I have to say, they were perfect! I started out at a good pace, then cranked it up the last few miles and finished strong. I also did ab and arm work in the weight room after the run.

I’m glad to see that the dreaded treadmill doesn’t have to be dreaded. The workout was so good I realized that it’s probably a great thing to mix up running outside and inside. Inside I can work on my pace better, because I am focused on the machine and what it says. Outside, though I have a Garmin on and I can see my pace and time, I tend to ‘drift’ mentally.

I like both of these – drifting and focusing – and I’m guessing that mixing workouts up this way is a great way to become stronger on runs.

There are times we need to drift, particularly on longer runs when we have nothing but time on our hands, or, well, our feet!

There are times we need to focus, like when we are racing. I also believe the treadmill can be a great way to condition the body. It shows us how to run a certain pace for a certain length of time. Outside we run varying speeds throughout the run – on a treadmill, you run what it is moving or you fall off, end of story.

If you aren’t mixing up your workouts between indoor and outdoor running, maybe you should try it out. If you dread the treadmill – try it a few times and see if you don’t find a bit of enjoyment in the different way it makes the body feel during a run.

I headed down around one and began lap swimming. Our pool is not huge, so I get about nine to ten strokes and have to turn around. It’s functional, though, and works out well in a bind when I don’t want to head over to the gym for a workout.

As I was resting between several laps, I heard this faint knock, knock, knock. I looked up at my bedroom window and saw there my oldest daughter, tapping lightly on the glass, holding up her thumb in a “Way to go mom!” salute.

At five, she understands the importance of exercise, and my need to do so on a pretty daily basis. She’s cheered me on at the finish line of several small races and one marathon, and she’s talked to me about running and her desire to do so when she’s older. We even ran a half mile race together last fourth of July.

And today there she was, cheering me on again. My biggest littlest fan. I love that kid. When I got in from laps she said, “Did you see me holding up my finger? I was saying, Way to go mom!”

I hope that she is always at the finish line to watch me cross, and I can’t wait until she is old enough to cross her own!

My workouts have been off this week. My husband is off work doing some renovations around the house so we’ve been staying up late and doing things together, like taking the kids to the movie one particularly sweltering day to escape the heat. I got in a twenty five minute swim today, I missed my biking yesterday, but my runs have been okay. Back to the gym in the morning, unless I get up early and run here. I think I may do that since I want to get in at least 5 and I hate the thought of 5 on the dreadmill! Though I’m getting more used to it, and enjoying it more, I certainly don’t want to have to do it for 45-50 minutes.

Basically I’m missing one biking this week and yoga last night; the biking I may try to make up tomorrow at some point since he  will be home again, and I need to continue my yoga each night, though that, too, has been off this week. I am considering myself on vacation and not being too hard on myself for missing these things. Life does go on, I see, when you don’t get in those workouts. It’s not the end of the world, right?

In non running news, I’m back to work. I just designed a unique wordpress themed site for a celebrity interviewer at www.intriguedshow.com. We are putting the finishing touches on the site this week, and I can’t wait to hear some of her interviews. I’ll reveal the name when the site goes live; I’m not sure she is ready for that just yet.

Happy Friday running! I’m hoping for a great 5 miler tomorrow AM.