Two days later, she finally posts about her first treadmill experience.
Sorry folks. I'm late. I know you've been sitting on the edge of your seats waiting ... with baited breath.
As the daylight of summer quickly fades into the crap-darkness of winter, I can clearly see that running outside after work is going to get more difficult, especially since I seem to be staying in the office later and later these days. So, since I got out late Friday and since I wanted to test the treadmill in my apartment community before push came to shove, I gave it a go.
I figured most people my age in this community would be out enjoying Halloween parties and not working out, and therefore the equipment would be free. I was right! There are also two treadmills in the workout room, and though I don't like the idea of huffing and puffing and thumping and staggering next to someone, at least there's a greater chance a treadmill will be open.
Anyway, it didn't go too badly. I expected to struggle with finding an appropriate pace for myself and with the mechanics of machine-aided exercise. I didn't expect to finish 25 minutes without stopping. I was right. I did make it to 20, though, and I think I could have done 25+ if I was wearing short sleeves. I overheated a bit, which a friend of mine warned me about. Even though I powered through the hottest of summer runs, getting hot on a treadmill with long sleeves on is different--no breeze.
Do you have any tactics for staying cool on a treadmill?
The first 5 minutes went so quickly; the second 5 minutes also went well. After that, it was a struggle. While those first 10 minutes flew by, I spent the second 10 minutes staring at the clock. I got bored. I had my headphones and a window in front of me, but elected to not turn the television on. That may have helped.
How do you fight treadmill boredom?
I kept my speed at 4.3 for 16 minutes, then bumped it down to 4.1 until minute 19, then back up to 4.2. What's your go-to treadmill speed? I stayed at zero incline the whole time. Hills? Pshh ... NO! =) Anyway, at least I know I can do the treadmill through the winter if need be. I don't want to skip outside running altogether, though, because I still like it much more.
I'll be running at some point today, if I can get myself off the couch. No, I will run today. I just need to decide how much. The Thanksgiving Day 10K is getting closer and I'm starting to bug out a little about the distance. Should I practice a longer run a few times or will I be okay? I mean, it's not like it'll be hot out or anything. And if I get tired, I can just walk with everyone else.
Okay, so a rather dis-jointed, uninspired post today, but I wanted to mark the occasion of my first treadmill run. Until next time ...
Definitely don't wear long sleeves. I usually wear short sleeve wicking shirts (how do you spell that?). And when I run it's between 5.3-5.6 mph. I think I've hit 6.0 on sprints (like 1 minute at 5.4, 1 minute at 5.6, 1 minute at 5.8, etc. and back down). That could be a good way to increase your tempo and also fight boredom.
ReplyDeleteHaving the TV on probably would help (at least it does for me when I ride my exercise bike at home). If you're keeping the incline at zero, maybe it would be better to cover the clock and go by your iPod cadence, just like you're running outside? As for keeping cool, a benefit of the treadmill (in my experience) is that now you can have a bottle of water with you without having to carry it.
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