When you run everyday as I do, there are mornings when you have to improvise to conquer adverse conditions. For awhile here in Portland, I had a treadmill that I would use in icy weather, but we no longer had the space for it when we moved into this apartment. I also don’t have access to a fitness center that comes with most apartment complexes. As a result, I usually scout-out nearby parking garages and other covered areas, just in case. Fortunately, we have Good Samaritan Hospital just a block away that I’ve been saving for a “rainy” day, or an icy one like today!

The temperature this morning was hovering at the freezing mark with spotty patches of ice. I did not want to take a chance of injury on day #4035 and asked permission from the security guard to use the garage facilities. It was three floors underground and each lap on the flat lower level took about a minute. At first, I was only going to run the minimum mile, but instead broke up the monotony by spending about 13 minutes on each level to complete my 5k goal. I could however feel the pounding of laps completed exclusively on concrete. In the four months that we’ve now lived downtown, this was the first time I’ve really needed to use it, and I’m glad I did. 

I’ve relied on other parking garages, basements, hallways, ship decks, and airport tunnels in my eleven years of running every day. When we lived in Austin, where “The Streak” began, there were torrential downpours. I often used the garage in our corporate apartment building, although there were no flat areas. We also had an exercise facility but the treadmills were constantly in use or broken. In addition, I had a nagging leg injury for months that felt uncomfortable on both level and downhill surfaces, but was somehow less painful when doing the five-story uphill incline that helped loosen it up. It was the one time in my running “career” I actually favored an uphill course, avoided now like the plague.

We moved to a second apartment in Austin that also had treadmill access – if they worked. I soon became an expert on simple repairs and resetting breakers. There was not a parking garage in our complex, but I do remember going down the street to a covered garage on occasion. It was also a place to take the dogs to do their business. My wife would walk them on the dry surface while I circled the lot time-after- time. We then moved to a condo where I had to occasionally drive to a covered garage about a mile away to get out of the rain. 

I recall running in parking garages in Chicago when traveling and on one occasion using an A&W Drive-In in Rochester, Indiana that allowed only a small loop around picnic tables, but at least had an awning as protection from the elements. When we moved to Portland, we started in a high-rise apartment that had plenty of treadmills that were expertly maintained. I’ve also spent many hours on hotel treadmills all over the world, including the instability of those on cruise ships. Fortunately, the USRSA that monitors my running streak allows this mechanical option. If they didn’t I’m sure I would have found a creative way to continue without missing a day.