[Green Thursdays] Racing Through the Winter Months

A Photo from Bay Area Boxing, which offers affordable kickboxing classes

Yesterday, I got into a conversation with co-workers about the difficulties of being a female runner in the winter. First, you've got the whole issue of needing more "coverage" for those early-morning runs. Second, your face gets really hot and your ears get really cold (this is a cross-gender problem). And, third, it's actually dangerous for anyone -- but moreso for women -- to run in the dark. Sure, statistically speaking, abduction while you're out jogging is not common. But it happens, and why would I want to put myself at risk?

That leaves you with two options: lunch-time runs or working out indoors. I often have meetings with management after lunch, so I have to go with the latter. And I hate it from an environmental perspective. 

I just read this article on Slate about the environmental impact of gyms. It's kind of frightening how much energy is consumed in gyms, especially considering that they're still such unpleasant places to hang out.

My suggestion: join a smaller, locally-run gym that specializes in yoga, rock climbing, boxing, or whatever else you might be interested in learning. Those gyms have fewer machines and use less energy because they don't require vast quantities of workout equipment but they still have a few treadmills where you can do distance runs once or twice a week. The spaces are smaller too, so there's less space to cool down with the A/C. Also, sometimes, as in the case with Bay Area Boxing, the instructors are really freakin' cute.