Saturday, March 13, 2010

The rain won't stop falling so the elliptical and treadmill are calling

The rain was coming down hard this morning, as expected, so any hopes for an outside run today were dashed. My wife was already on the treadmill so I hopped on the elliptical and joined her for the last 15 minutes of her run. It was a good warm-up for my 25 minute run that followed hers. Between the elliptical session and the start of my run I re-hydrated with a mixture of Zico coconut water and ground chia seed. Between the 15 minute warm-up, the five minute break and the energy mix I was able to start fast on the treadmill instead of working up to cruising speed like I usually do after starting cold. My goal was to run 30 minutes but after less than a mile I decided that was too ambitious. There's something about treadmill running that causes me to silently plead for it to end as soon as possible. As I've mentioned before, the lack of stimuli makes the minutes crawl by like hours.

I bargained with myself to reduce the intended length of the run as I reached the 15 minute mark. I'd already covered more than a mile on the elliptical and I was running at a good clip so I reduced my time goal by 5 minutes. I ended up covering 2.8 miles in about 25 minutes at 8:51/mile and finished feeling like a wet noodle. I've spoken to other runners who tell me treadmill running is far easier for them than street running but for me it's just the opposite. I can run 5 or more miles on the road or trail and come back feeling relatively fresh, but, perhaps due to the static air and the heat in the room, the treadmill is tougher going. With our new treadmill due for delivery next Thursday I'll see if it's the treadmill or just my treadmill that's so exhausting. The rain is predicted to continue through Sunday but perhaps it will be polite enough to stop for an hour so I can take my workout outside.

2 comments:

  1. The rain did stop me, however, I did witness the winner cross the finish line @ the 15K in Kings Park. I was amazed as the winners, all under 1 hr. ran in the wind, rain & cold in only a tank top & running shorts. As each runner congratulated his competitor at the finish line, without any fan fare each runner slowly walked to his car, got in and drove home.

    It was the first time I was a spectator at race and "watched".

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sounds like a competitive crowd. I'm surprised that they still ran it with all the rain and wind.

    ReplyDelete

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