A Change of Scenery

Ok, so I ran inside today. Yes, inside...on the treadmill. And to be perfectly honest, it wasn't that bad! Granted, my husband has our workout room decked out with a desktop computer and a fully functional television with DVD player and satellite receiver. It makes the miles fly by. It is also a hell of a lot warmer than running in 10° weather, which I don't think I've ever attempted. My step-daughter, who has returned to her love of the run, e-mailed me yesterday morning to ask me what is the coldest weather I'd run in. I think I have recorded such at 15° last winter, but that was in full sunshine and no wind. Any colder than that would be too dangerous for any person at any age, I believe.

So, I treaded it. I decided to wear a thicker soled sneaker, which was probably a good idea. And although I started with a 45-minute pre-set walk/run interval program, it only lasted 45-minutes. Not good enough! So, I added a 3-mile jog program on top of that.

To be honest, the last time I actually "ran" on a treadmill, I wasn't as experienced of a runner as I am now. When I got to the 5-minute run part of the 45-minute pre-set walk/run interval program, I don't think I made it through the entire 5 minutes! So today, was quite pleasant to say the least. I set my run speed at 7.0 mph, and my walk speed at 4.2 mph. When that program finished and I moved on to the 3-mile jog, I started at 7.0 mph and moved up to 7.5 mph. I was able to do some internet shopping during the walk phase of the 45-minute pre-set walk/run interval program, and managed to watch Danny Dreyer's Chi Running video during the run part. All this while my wonderful cleaning ladies let loose on the story above me!

I told my husband later that I actually burned more calories per hour on the treadmill than I did outside! He found that hard to believe, unless of course I was at more than a 0% incline. For the most part, it was set between 1 and 2%, but during the walking phase, I was between 4 and 8%. Perhaps that made all the difference. So, for a 7 mile walk/run, I ended up burning 985 calories! That is OK by me. I also was able to practice some Chi, believe it or not...and a few times I bumped right into the display of the treadmill. Clearly, I was doing it correctly.

It is supposed to warm up to near 30° by the end of the week, so hopefully I can get back out there. We'll see what the weather brings.

Our Treadmill Setup

Computer Keyboard

Feature Presentation