Showing posts with label meetings. Show all posts
Showing posts with label meetings. Show all posts

Thursday, November 20, 2014

Heat, exhaustion and a failing treadmill

Torture chamber. Why did I wear a sweater?
Today's workout (treadmill): 25 minutes

I spent most of the week in an airless conference room filled with computers that raised the temperature into the intolerable range. We were piloting some new business processes and technologies and I spent a lot of time managing the participants and capturing issues on a whiteboard. The heat, lack of ventilation and fumes from the dry markers wore me out.

This morning I celebrated a return to normal working conditions. I hopped on the treadmill at 3:45 AM and hoped to raise my heart rate and ingest cool air that was devoid of marker solvent. I hadn't run since Sunday and was ready to go. I'm no fan of the treadmill but that didn't bother me today. Once the machine started up I changed my mind about that.

The F63
Our Sole F63 has not lived up to its reputation as a top rated machine. In the four years that we've owned it, we've had to rebuild the motor once, fix multiple problems with a slipping tread belt and replace the display console four times. Despite regular maintenance, our technician told us a few months ago that the treadmill is nearing its end. Based on the cacophony of sound I heard today, I thought the end would come today.

The Sole was never whisper quiet, but compared to the 14 year old Pro-Form unit it replaced, our new machine was nearly silent. Now the F63 is making worse noises than the Pro-Form. The motor has grown increasingly louder and the belt rollers are making sounds like gunshots. The belt also feels like it slips when I increase the speed past a certain point.

I managed to get through my workout, but I'm not sure how many runs are left in the machine. I do 3/4 of my running outside, so I can manage without the treadmill, but my wife does all her running on it. It's going to be cold tomorrow morning, but I'm very much looking forward to a quiet outdoor run.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Echos of schedules past

Yesterday's workout (elliptical): 25 minutes
Today's run (treadmill): 25 minutes

It's been a very busy week and my schedule has interfered with my ability to publish my posts. I've had to resort to using the Blogger app on my phone in between engagements. I'm not sure how this will work, but here goes!

I've been going into the city the last two days for some industry meetings. The early morning wake-ups and commuting on the train were great reminders of my former daily grind. On both days I added long walks between Penn Station and Columbus Circle on top of my morning workouts.  I'm hoping I've impressed the Fitbit enough to earn another I LIKE U.

Yesterday morning I had one more go on the elliptical. I'm still not loving its rickety build, but it does provide a decent workout. I woke up this morning with some hip pain and I'd hoped that it would pass when I started my run. It didn't, and the pain continued throughout the day. The three additional miles I walked later in the morning probably didn't help it.

My hip's not bothering me too much at this point and I'm hoping to get back outside for a run tomorrow morning. I'm also hoping that the freezing temperatures and stiff winds are gone by then. I'm truly looking forward to a less intense day on Friday. How did I used to do this city thing five days a week?

 

blogger templates | Webtalks