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 