Thursday, March 13, 2014

My Winter on the Treadmil: Three Things Thursday

Again. It happened again.

 photo 1798765_10153894124865072_1468960048_n_zpsad80cb13.jpg

Fort Wayne saw another near-crippling round of weather Wednesday - rain turned to sleet turned to ice turned to snow ... and more snow.  In total, we got 7 inches of snow plus an inch or two of ice and another day of school canceled. It might have been pretty, maybe even welcome, during another winter - one where every snow wasn't a big one and life didn't change. But I pretty much spent much of the morning grumbling and pouting and maybe saying a few choice words.

When I realized bitching wasn't going to melt the snow, I tried to be positive about it. Mark was home, and I could surrender Miles duties to get to the Y early for a treadmill run. I had intervals on tap that were supposed to get me to 5 miles. Even at a fast pace, I would need an hour when you factored in clothing changes, showers and pee breaks. Mark's help might mean I could do all of those things and still arrive at work on time.

Or so I thought. As I have learned this winter, nothing is that simple. I got stuck in the middle of my street, requiring Mark and the neighbor to push me for a good 15 minutes. I had to dig out a parking space at the Y, as the lot hadn't been plowed. I stayed upbeat and considered it a warm up.  Upon leaving, I had to dig out some more and only got out - a half hour later - thanks to three guys who pushed my car the entire way through the lot.

Oh, winter. You are a gem. And here are a few from this winter on the 'mill.

1. I used to think running on the treadmill was the easy way out. You were inside in a climate-controlled environment, could watch TV and wear shorts. You punched in some numbers and the treadmill made you do the work. This winter, though, I've been following a training plan that calls for some pretty intense workouts. No matter where I do them, they are going to be hard. It's true the treadmill sets the pace but a) I'm running it; and b) I'm selecting paces that are challenging and sticking with it. It's hard to maintain that level of intensity consistently outside and rather than sputtering the last 15 seconds of an interval, I'm staying strong all the way through.

2. Slower, faster ... whatever. I used to whine that I was faster outside than I was on the treadmill - and that could very well be true - but what I've learned is that I didn't know how to push myself on the machine. I had a predetermined pace for the treadmill branded into my psyche and anything faster just felt hard. This winter, I've consciously tried to bump up my starting pace, about the faster end of what a long run should be, and just dealt. Surprise of the century, I didn't somersault off of it and managed to run just fine. As a result, I'm getting faster - on the treadmill and outside - and I even set a PR pace on the treadmill Wednesday during my interval workout.

3. There seems to be this obsession with finding a distraction on the treadmill. It's too boring, it's too hard, it's too ... blah, blah, blah. What I've found, though, is that if I am focused on running, which is what I am supposed to be doing, I don't need the other things. Don't get me wrong - I totes watched "The Walking Dead" during an easy paced run where I didn't need to adjust the pace or incline. For interval runs or tempos, I find things like ear buds, bad songs and commercials a way to give myself an "out."

And, the overriding lesson here is that I don't need one. An out. My winter on the treadmill has taught me I'm strong, able and willing.

9 comments:

  1. I like speed work on the treadmill, intervals to be exact, but I've managed to keep my running on the mill to a minimal this winter. This winter just sucks though.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. You are my hero. I feel good that I am usually 2 outside, 2 inside this winter. The easy and long out, the hard and fast in. But if winter would choose to die and I can run outside always, I'd be fine.

      Delete
  2. Amen, sister. Now, someone needs to teach my legs that they don't need to jump off the belt every 3/4 of a mile or so. I don't know why they do that.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Ha! I love that. I can't drink and run at the same time on the treadmill so I pretend there are stop lights for which I need to pause. Reasonable, right?

      Delete
  3. I've always been a fan of hard and fast workouts on the mill. Long runs not so much. That said, when I had no choice but to do a 22 miler on the mill the first year I trained for Boston, I gained new respect for myself. Mills can suck but we can overcome and emerge stronger.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. 22 on the treadmill? OMG. Once again proving you are awesome. I almost did 12 the other week but did the snow march for 8 instead. I am almost tempted to keep doing the fast workouts on the treadmill. It takes some of the math out, which is always good.

      Delete
  4. I swear, your posts make me want to find a map of California and kiss it. I would do 10 miles outside over 2 on the treadmill any day. You winter runners are a STRONG breed and I have all the respect in the world for you!

    http://www.myojos.net/

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. HA! II'd kiss a map for more than weather. Hello, In-N-Out. {Nostalgic memories from an LA vacation.}

      Delete
  5. I can't believe I ran in a tank on Tuesday, and two long sleeve layers today. Oh, Indiana, your weather simply blows sometimes.
    My treadmill workouts inevitably turn into progression runs Every. Damn. Time. Seeing that stupid little pace number makes me want to push it, faster and faster, and I usually end up at a 6:00/mile pace for the last minute before I cool down. I guess it's useful speedwork, but I will take outside running over treadmills 95% of the time... unless there's hellacious, cold wind. Eff that.

    ReplyDelete