Its a Beautiful Sunday morning, sun is out, but not too warm. So what to do? Sunday long run outside, of course. Right? NOPE! Not today. I have promised my kids I will take them to the gym with me. And, to go with our schedule, this morning is it. So I rally my troops, get in the car, and head to the closest 24 Hour Fitness. I check the kids into Kids Club, and off I go. Upstairs to the Cardio Zone.
I have a serious problem with the treadmill. Sure it is great when it is the middle of the Oregon rainy season (6 months of constant rain). Or, when I want to sneak in a workout at lunch, because the shower is right there. But it was nice out today. Strike 1 against the treadmill. The second problem, I usually talk myself into a shorter distance, somewhere in the middle of my treadmill runs. Boredom I suspect. I'd rather be anywhere else. But today..this was going to be my workout. 5 miles on the treadmill, and maybe a swim after. (I haven't been in the pool in 3 months)
I turn the corner towards the treadmills. There are only a few people on them, so I have a pretty large choice. Proper treadmill selection is key. Someone is on the one I usually take. That one at least offers a view of people lifting downstairs, and I can see out to the street. I don't want to be right next to someone when there are plenty of machines open, so I move 2 to the left. As I get on it, I feel a breeze from the air conditioning system. This is a good sign. Slightly cool before I start, I wont bake in the middle of the workout. I no longer run with music, and I do not like to have the treadmills with the TVs attached. That is way too close to my face, and makes my eyes buggy.
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| The Precor, My usual style (without the TV) |
So I get on the machine, feet to the sides, press Quick Start, up my elevation and speed, and jump on. It always feels too fast at first, but I find if I start slow, the whole treadmill run ends up being at too slow a pace. So I always start at the slowest speed I ever want to be in that workout, I figure the 5 miles will take me about 48 minutes plenty of time to still jump in the pool.
Wow, I'm feeling good. I can do this. I have no where else to be, I'm not rushed, and I'm almost 3/4 of a mile in without even noticing time pass. Then....It all starts to go downhill (except for the treadmill elevation).
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| Shark Sonic Duo |
In the cardio area there are 10 TVs, with a variety of programming from news to sports to TNT. (I have no idea why that channel is always on.) But what is in front of me??? An infomercial. A Loooooooong 30 minute infomercial on the "Shark Sonic Duo". Over and over and over I see the vacuuming, and the tape on the carpet showing dirty and clean. It is such a bad commercial that I'm not sure weather to laugh or cringe. I start cringing. And then it really starts bugging me. I think.." I want off this treadmill. I don't want to see this anymore. Maybe I should just cut my run to 5K." Like I said. I'm pretty good about talking myself into a shorter workout on the treadmill. I manage to stay on through the rest of the infomercial. I'm about 24 minutes into my run. Woo hoo, I made it through. And then....Infomercial #2 comes on. The Nu Wave cooker or something. Honestly. Just too much for me. I'm sure you are wondering why I didn't look away, but there were really no other TVs in a good sight line or distance. I was trapped. So I finished 5K, pushed STOP, cleared my workout, and walked to the water fountain.
And then I thought, "I'm not quitting today". I turned around, and chose a new treadmill, right behind my usual one, and the Sunday Nascar pre-race was on the nearby TV. I'm fine watching cars and garage areas. But, this was a different type of treadmill. TheFreeMotion Incline treadmill. I haven't tried them before, because I always see people hanging on for dear life to the top handles. Does the machine not go slow enough?
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| FreeMotion Incline Treadmill |
But hey, I have 1.9 more miles to do, so let's go! I get on, feet to the sides, press Quick Start, up my elevation and speed, and jump on. My elevation on the Precor treadmill had been at 1.0, so I figured I'd do the same. But, It felt like I was running downhill. I double checked, not in the negatives, so I upped it to 2.0. It still seemed quite different, and possibly downhill. I did notice that the deck was a lot firmer, and much more similar feeling to a road. This I liked. I got going on the 1.9 miles, and in an effort to get through this workout, kept upping my speed. So I guess I got a little speed work in too. I finished. 5 Total Miles. Goal Met!!!!!
As for the swim... I managed to do that too. It was a nice cool down. I had no expectations for how far or fast I was going, and I even used flip turns. It turns out, flip turns make the swim flow a lot better, and I don't get a break at each wall, which is much more like my open water swims. Glad I finally learned how to do them. 400m complete. Then a shower and picked up the kids. Turned out to be a good morning.
Do you have a treadmill preference, brand, type?
Do you find it easier or harder to run on a treadmill as opposed to outside?
What's the furthest you've ever run on a treadmill? (I've heard of people running 13 miles. I would never make it)
