Once again, I thought that this might be the winter that I end up on a treadmill.

Yesterday, we had rain – a lot of rain. At the end of last week, Southern Ontario saw a quick spike in temperatures, followed by a downpour on Sunday. The GTA had 20mm of rain (I have to admit that I am glad it was warm or we would have had a load of snow instead); on my drive to the pool, I didn’t see anybody running and my Strava feed was filled with runners who took to the treadmill. I had decided to postpone my own long run and contemplated going to the gym or rec centre later for a quick 5K on the treadmill. But I am not a treadmill runner. I never have been much of one but I am starting to think that, this year, that might change.

Over the past few weeks, I have missed at least one run because of the weather. One morning, roads and sidewalks were a bit icy; questionnable footing is all I need to turn me towards a ride on my trainer instead. A few other mornings, I thought I might try to run before going to work, but it was too dark for my running comfort; I like to see where my feet are landing. You might think that I am just full of excuses or looking for reasons to not run, but I’m not. In 2015, I broke my jaw – four fractures, actually – that had me on a liquid diet and off work for 7 weeks. I was running in the dark and hit a chunk of ice that sent me flying, so my feelings about running in the dark or if it is at all icy are completely justified.

In the past few years, if I missed a run, I shrugged my shoulders (okay, I complained too) and found something else to do. But this year I have goals: running goals and triathlon goals, big goals. After a health setback in the fall, I’m ready to start building again and I don’t want to miss a step. I want my run to be strong. If getting on the treadmill is what I need to do, then getting on the treadmill is what I will do.

So now I need to plan – figure out what to do and and try to run 5K on one, possibly a bit more. After my swim on Sunday, I took the first step and went to the cardio section of the gym to find the treadmills. This weekend, I will take the second and run on one. It sounds so simple but, for me, the hardest part is getting started. This weekend will be the start – and it is going to be awesome.