I have spent a lot of time traveling during the last year for work, not all of it is bad. I had an awesome opportunity to speak at a conference in Rome about my company, Zia Consulting‘s product Fresh Docs on the iPad. That was a pretty awesome trip. I wasn’t running yet, but I walked a ton on that trip with my lovely wife.

I do prefer running outside, a lot. There is nothing like running on trails in the Fall.However, sometimes my crazy schedule that is a result of being a father, husband, entrepreneur, athlete, and all around nice guy doesn’t allow for proper training times.

Image by tsfisher via Flickr

I learned while I trained for the Leadville Trail Run a couple of years ago (couple = 6) that I consistently get my mileage in if I log some of those miles on a treadmill. This and fact that my family and I lived outside of Madison, Wisconsin and the weather isn’t as nice. It is very cold in the winter and very hot and humid in the summer. I actually tolerate the cold better, but 5 degrees with wind in the Midwest is just flat out cold.

My family and I moved back to Boulder, CO a couple of years ago and did the prudent Boulder thing, we sold the treadmill. We really weren’t using it because the weather in Boulder is pretty amazing most of the time. If it is cold out, the sun is usually shining and you just flat out feel like going outside to run.

I am not sure if I am a wimp or not, but I have really enjoyed bumping up my mileage on treadmills while I have been traveling. I do run outside as often as possible, but it is tough when you are on the road. I find the soft, flexible cushion of the treadmill and the mind-numbing news or radio is a perfect combination to zone out and bang out some miles.