I’m at practice 3x’s/week for 75 min and I’ve been mostly reading.
Limitations – it’s in a school so I can’t run in the halls. It’s in the northeast so it’s dark at 7pm. Some lanes have 10-13 kids, so jumping in isn’t an option.
I’ve brought a trainer and ridden in the parking lot a few times. Is this the best option or do you have any other suggestions.
It’s great catching up on reading, but training time is limited and it seems like I’m wasting this time.
thanks in advance for any help
Barry
It’s in the northeast so it’s dark at 7pm.
Headlamp?
Do they have a track? Running laps can be an option.
I run in the dark all the time. I couldn’t hardly run 5 months out of the year otherwise. I have a 13 mile run tomorrow morning at 5AM. Wear bright cothing, get a refelctive vest, find less traveled roads AND use a flasher. I find I don’t usually need a headlamp.
the high school down the street might be doable, but now it’s probably covered with a foot of snow. I’ll have to check cause it’s a brand new complex not in the best section of town and I think they lock the gates on the 12’ fence.
That’s one other limitation, it’s not in a great area. Thugs might not like the cold though.
Does the school have a fitness room? The local high school here with the pool also has a large fitness room, with treadmills and spin bikes. Maybe work a deal with someone to use them? Otherwise running outside seems the best bet. Trainer in the parking lot when it’s freezing probably won’t work too well…
Jump the fence and run in the snow. Great workout, slow run but your heartrate will get up there. Ignore the milage and run based on time.
The bike trainer sounds like a really good idea. And the suggestion to run outside on the road is a good one as well. Before we had twins, I’d run during my daughters swim practice and I got in a lot of good workouts.
I would run outside in the dark. That’s what I do I my daughters swim practice sometimes.
Since it’s a bad area, I’d probably do laps around the parking lot. Not much different then running on the track.
If that doesn’t work maybe you can find a 2-3 block loop that is fairly safe and do that for 45 minutes. Mix in some sprints, push-ups or ab work.
If there was no possible way to run effectively I might bring the trainer.
What I wouldn’t do is waste 3 hours a week sitting there.
Crossfit?
Core body work (push-ups, sit ups). Bring some weights, squats, burpees. Yoga (buy a book if you don’t do currently). There must be some stairs somewhere to run.
x2. This suggestion has the added benefits of absolutely embarrassing your daughter and ruining any chance for her to ever have a social life. Make sure you set up as close to the clock as you can. After all, you need to be sure to hold your yoga poses for the proper time and of course you want to do your 3 min’s of burpees on the proper intervals.
Is there room somewhere in the building to bring your bike and trainer inside? It may seem geeky at first but folks will get used to you after a few times. I used to do this when my oldest was playing soccer. Granted it was warm out but I’d set up my trainer on the sidelines and ride away.
trav
Pfffft. Are you kidding? Wimping out on running because of the dark?
Get one of these and get running - even if you just have run circles around the school, you can get a totally legit quality training session in there every time, no excuses!
First and easiest, try running. Find a route during daylight hours and learn its unique qualities such that its not a big deal at night when you use a flash light or head lamp.
Or, search around and try the closest nearby area with adequate lighting. A mall, a high school (with or without a track), a busy street with sidewalks (car lights and street lamps), a hospital (usually plowed very well)…
You ought to be able to find a 1 mile or more loop that is adequately illuminated.
Good luck.
David K
tough one Barry… do you have to stay onsite or could you drive a little bit away to get to a better running location? If you run in baggie jeans and a hoodie then you wouldnt have to worry about the sketchy location, nobody would mess with you ;). Riding the trainer outside would be tough to dress for right now, plus the trainer would get destroyed with all the slush & snow.
If there’s a nearby ‘nicer’ community suburb, that is usually one of the best places to run alone with lights at night. You don’t even need a big one - any loop of 400+meters total will suffice - you’ll be in the dark anyway so you won’t be relying on scenery for entertainment. At night, suburubs with houses are far superior/safer than community parks where the riffraff tends to congregate.
I’ve brought a trainer and ridden in the parking lot a few times.
Barry
Man, if I set up my trainer in the parking lot of my kid’s school I think they’d never forgive me for the traumatic embarrassment that would bring upon them.
http://i44.tinypic.com/15frf2q.jpg
You said dark and sketchy…
x2. This suggestion has the added benefits of absolutely embarrassing your daughter and ruining any chance for her to ever have a social life. Make sure you set up as close to the clock as you can. After all, you need to be sure to hold your yoga poses for the proper time and of course you want to do your 3 min’s of burpees on the proper intervals.
You’re at the pool so up the ante and do all the above in your speedo. Work in a few wall handstand pushups and some buttsweeps if they have bleachers.