Last year at this time, I couldn’t run 5 miles on the treadmill. Seriously. I couldn’t. I would go down to the gym in my building and “think” that I was going to pound out some good miles at lunch and it never happened. If I were on the treadmill, I was running intervals or just wasting time. It was torture to be on that thing. Pure torture.
Things have changed a lot over the last year. As I “may” have mentioned, our personal schedules are beyond complex, work is insane, the kids are very active between school, extracurriculars & homework. Sleep is a luxury at times. More is being crammed into our lives each and every day, whether we like it or not. So I made the decision to purchase a treadmill last fall. At that time, the reason I did so was to be able to get my speed sessions in while at home. I can’t go to the track to run during daylight hours, hitting the gym at lunch is a luxury that would require me to pull myself away from my desk, and running fast in the dark on my country roads is just not safe. So, welcome home treadmill!
I can’t say that it was love at first run. We’ve had some snags. Initially the machine (which was new) was lazy and really didn’t want to work, at all. I must have gotten a “lemon” and it needed a lot of work, repair visits, and new parts to get up to speed. However, after a few repair visits, we are now running strong. Crossing my fingers that it continues.
In fact, last week, my non-treadmill-loving-self logged 39 run miles.
Out of those 39 run miles, 26 were on the treadmill. Yes, 26 treadmill miles. Is that a world record? Okay, probably not but it certainly is in my world.
MON – 4.75 treadmill miles of speed work, FRI – 5.05 treadmill miles of tempo, SAT – 16 treadmill miles of training. TTF record for sure!
What’s the difference between now and last year? It’s a changing of the mindset and good tv shows streaming on Netflix. Apparently last year, I had more free time (Aby wasn’t playing volleyball and hubby wasn’t working EVERY Saturday). Now, if I’m going to run, and watch my kiddos, I have to hit the treadmill. If I want to go to Aby’s VB game, and run afterwards, I have to hit the treadmill. If I want be safe from dark & icy conditions, and still run, I have to hit the treadmill. All of sudden, you know what? I love that damn treadmill.
I know that treadmill miles are not ideal but the mill is letting me get in my miles, feel as if I’m going to be somewhat prepared to run a marathon on April 21st and still live my life. So not ideal, but I’ll take it. And once again, if there is a will, there is a way. I know that I did not have this same will last year at this time but it doesn’t matter cuz I have it now. So if you need me, I’ll be on the treadmill dreaming of being able to take it back outside sometime soon.
** Happy Running – Regardless Of How YOU Fit It In ** Amanda – TooTallFritz **
TooTallFritz 
Where there is a will, there is a way. Your WILL is killing it, way to get it done on the treadmill. Time seems to stand still on the treadmill, love your positive attitude.
You are awesome! I’m glad you found love in your TM and are able to get your miles in, which is SO SO hard to do in this busy life we all lead.
I’ve come to not despise my treadmill, either. A lot of that has to do with the flat screen I put on the wall + HBO on demand & Netflix, too. 🙂
The Netflix (and I imagine HBO on demand) is a game changer. I couldn’t do it without having something to constantly keep me engaged rather than just my normal process of watching the thousandths roll.
Well…it’s bout time you came around to find something positive with the treadmill running. You are correct…it is dreadful to spend long duration on the “rat-mill” but it has its advantages as you note to get your training in amidst other life demands…and I would add…dealing with nasty…cold…winter…weather. I guess it is like hills…you despise them…but eventually come to recognize…they can be a necessity and your friend.
You are all fortunate that you have big-screen TVs and such to watch. I only got music to keep me going…which works well most of the time. I will toss in some other advantages of treadmill running in winter.
Here’s one…if you training to run a marathon or other longer-distance race in spring when weather conditions may be far warmer come race day…well logging some moderate distance miles and/or 1-1.5 hr duration runs on the mill in controlled and far warmer temperatures in house can be a big asset in developing your sweat-response to running in warmer conditions at time of race while training in winter.
There are a lot of other assets treadmill gives you like “controlling the speedwork for you”…and I won’t be-labor the subject or this blog-site with all the advantages, but you can use the treadmill to work on your “running-form” and trying to find that “sweet-zone” in stride and turnover rate that translates into maximum energetic efficiency in your running gait. If you are fortunate to have a treadmill that has sensors that record your foot-strikes on the mat/deck then you got a perfect stat to work from. I use mine all the time to calculate stride-rate and see how close it comes to the coveted “90 cadence” or “180-foostrikes” per minute. If your mill don’t have that footsriker sensing function…you can still work on form…especially if you have a mirror on wall and watch how your form goes over time.
And if you wear a HR monitor and keep tabs on that….sometimes you can make adjustments in your gait and stride and denote when HR decreases a bit. This means you running more efficiently. And if you run more efficiently…you use less muscled glycogen over the long-haul….and that’s what it is all about…conserving enough muscle glycogen to run the last 10k of a marathon faster than you did the first 20-miles! And if speed or fiinish time isn’t the goal…at least you have a more enjoyable time getting to the finish line. Treadmill can do that for you!
I don’t have a fancy treadmill with the foot strike technology. I’m just happy that it connects to iFit. I am loving the fact that I can run just about anytime (and anywhere with the iFit/google maps program). I am used to running in the dark but the snowy/icy trails are a problem for me this year with my foot being still in recovery mode. I have to be careful and that means also being careful outside in the dark.
I absolutely love this post! But you’re right-sometimes all it takes is a reframing!!!
I’m just not there yet. This is the first year I’ve committed to running outside (actually first you committed to running) and the few times I’ve been forced indoors on the treadmill I absolutely hated it. It just doesn’t get much more boring. Having said that – I’m the same guy that loves riding on my computrainer indoors 🙂 I guess its all a matter of perspetive and forcing yourself to look at things differently.
It’s taken me a long time to get to the point where I can do it. A long time. I still struggle on the bike trainienr though. I’d love a computrainer but just have a regular one.
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