My Winter on the Treadmil: Three Things Thursday

Again. It happened again.

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.

Three Things Thursday: Rules for winter running

Three runs this week and all three have been indoors.

And you know what I have to say about that? Eff you, Mother Nature.

After my bold proclamation that I was rocking the cold weather runs, the temperatures took a nose dive, the winds picked up and the ice settled on the roads. Today, for example, it was zero degrees with a -20 wind chill. Not only did the idea of layering up seem unappealing, the potential of danger lurked just outside the threshold of my front door. Seriously - I've rolled my ankle on phantom branches this fall, I can't imagine putting sole to physical ice.

And so I've stripped down, turned on the treadmill and gone. I went to the Y, walked up steps and did the hamster wheel of a track where 14 laps equals a mile. And then I decided trotting in place was far less daunting than running in tiny circles and trying to count at the same time.

In the 12 miles I've logged, I have felt sort of embarrassed - as if my inner pansy surfaced and laughed in my face. She's a mean bitch, that pansy.

So I decided to shut her up with some firm rules for running this winter, as they seem to change year-to-year. Actually, let's call them commandments as they sound a bit more likely to but her in her place.

1. Thou shalt not run outside if it is in the single digits. It's really great to run in zero degrees so that you can brag about how hard core you are to your Facebook friends that you ran in zero degrees. However, I don't run to brag about it (most of the time) and my FB friends couldn't give two shoots. Yes, shoots. So if it is 9 degrees, my ego is just fine to log 5 miles on the treadmill while I watch "Alaska: The Last Frontier."

How do you like that for irony?

2. Thou shalt not run outside if the wind is blowing at more than 20 mph. I hate running in the wind. It's stupid and makes runs harder. Running in the winter, especially sub-freezing temperatures, has its own sets of challenges and I'm not going to allow it to get more difficult than need be. Plus, it's no fun to wipe blowing snot from your ear canal.

3. Thou shalt not run outside if there is ice or more than 4 inches of snow on the ground. We run so we can keep running. Duh. Running on ice puts that at serious jeopardy. As far as the snow? I'm short, and 4 inches is probably mid-calf. At that point, I might as well pull out the step bench and follow a Jane Fonda VHS.

What are your rules for winter running?

Note: I understand that I am privileged to have a hand-me-down treadmill to the basement and a discount Y membership for teaching there. It's a luxury not everyone has. 

The revolving belt: Tips for getting faster on treadmill

I used to be an outside-only kind of runner. It was, in part, because I felt like I had to run outside to be a real runner and, in part, because I had limited access to a treadmill.

Then I moved into a house, got a hand-me-down treadmill, had a baby and lived through (hopefully) one of the coldest winters in recent memory. Running indoors not only became an option but a necessity at times. 

Even still, I didn't love it. I felt trapped, lethargic and slow. My pace indoors didn't come close to what it was outside, often times 30 seconds to a minute slower. I bemoaned the stats as I put them in and compared them with other outings, the ones outdoors. I feared that those slower numbers would be more and more common. I feared that the treadmill would suck the runner right out of me.

Logging more than 100 miles on the revolving belt this winter, however, I have learned to accept my situation. Sure, I'd give anything for a leisurely run in shorts with a slight breeze at dawn, catching the sun rise but I no longer bemoan it's existence. I head down the basement steps at 5 a.m.once or twice a week, sans griping, prepared to tackle whatever miles I have on deck. I listen to music, watch Netflix, spit on the floor (sometimes hitting the dog who's lapping up water).

And somewhere in this acceptance, I've seen some progress.

On Feb. 21, 2012, my last treadmill run of the season, I did 3.75 miles, including four 800 intervals. I did it in 36 minutes, 16 seconds - an average pace of 10:28.

On Nov. 15, 2012, one of my first this winter, I ran 3 miles in 32 minutes, 25 seconds - 10:48 pace.

On March 19, 2013, and sadly probably not my last treadmill run, I did a progression run of 5 miles in 46 minutes, 45 seconds - a 9:21 pace.

Don't you just love the benefits to keeping somewhat-meticulous logs of your runs?

So what was the trick, you ask? I'd have to say that it was finally losing the last 5 pounds, doing genealogy research that uncovered I am part Kenyan and a fancy new pair of shoes.

Or not.

Here are my tips for improving treadmill speed:

Accept that it won't be the same. So don't try to make it the same. Whether you are faster on the treadmill or slower or you hate looking at the peeling paint on the basement wall, take it for what it is and be glad for time on your feet.

Learn to be uncomfortable. Running doesn't always feel good and it's even more relevant in treadmill running. The air can often feel stagnant, there's no breeze and you're often in air that's warmer than you'll see till mid-summer. Sweat will roll down into your eyes and your breathing will feel off. It won't feel good. But it's no excuse to make a run on the treadmill easy, keeping the speed far below your capabilities. Remember, too, that running outside doesn't always feel good so take it for what it is and suck it up, buttercup.

Check conversion charts to see what you should be running. When I first started trying to run - a failed attempt at C25K - I thought 6.0 was super fast because that's the speed Mark would start at when he ran at the YMCA. As for the girl who ran in bum shorts and doing so at 7.0, she was an elite for all I knew as that speed terrified me. I now know that 6.0 is a 10-minute mile and 7.0 is an 8:34 - what 3-year-old Kenyans run for fun. Checking a conversion chart reveals that the oh-so-scary 7.0 pace is my 10K pace and what I want to do for certain workouts. I also know that 6.4 is what I want to average to hit an unofficial, unspoken threshold.

Be consistent. The more you run, the better you become. It goes for running outside and it goes for running indoors. I'm not saying to skip your outdoor runs - those are key - but if it comes to the treadmill or nothing, go for the treadmill. I have continued to run four, even five, days a week this winter by sucking it up and running on the treadmill.

But switch it up. I never just turn on the treadmill, crank it up to a certain speed and stay there. Rather, I warm up for a mile and try to perform a somewhat deliberate workout. Sometimes I try to run each quarter-mile faster and reset at the mile marker (ex: 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4; 6.1, 6.2, 6.3, 6.4 ...) or run 0.4 mile at a reasonable rate and 0.1 hard. And, of course, you can always go the hilly route. Adding in intervals not only builds speed and fitness but lets your body become acquainted with certain speeds so that when you try to hold them for a longer period, they don't seem so intimidating or hard.

If you do what you've always done, you'll be who you always were. OK, I'm not so sure that's how that phrase goes but it sort of works in this situation. If you always hop on the treadmill and press 6.0, you are always going to run 10-minute miles. For the longest time, my warm-up on the treadmill was the same. I'd start at 5.5, bumping it up to 5.7 in the first five minutes. At the five-minute mark, I turned it up to 6.0 and I averaged about a 10:15, 10:20 first mile. I ended up spending much of the run trying to make up time to bring my average pace under 10. I realized that I no longer needed to ease that gently into a run. My warm-up is now 6.1 from the start, and I feel just fine. It makes averaging a faster pace less of a challenge because I don't have to make up for being a weenie.

And we all know that runners are not weenies.

What are your treadmill tips? Share them here and I'll put them together in a future post.

Three Things Thursday: Wet, wild and wonderful

"I picked the wrong summer to train for a marathon," I told someone on the phone yesterday.

It's been hot. It's been humid. It's been all around gut-wrenching. The one thing it hasn't been is wet  -- unless you count my back, which I often describe as a slip-n-slide.

Until today.

Isolated thunderstorms were predicted throughout the night into this morning, and Mark and I woke up to a ferocious lightning show. My lovely husband rolled over and said, "I guess you'll be hitting the treadmill this morning."

I almost clocked him.

1. So, yeah, I ran on the treadmill. Six effing miles that were supposed to be easy but since running on the treadmill for me is about as easy as making Indian food, it was work. I have yet to get my iTunes collection from my old hard drive so I found myself listening to old podcasts from Another Mother Runner. Sweet grilled cheesus, they helped. They kept me engaged and entertained and while unable to make me run faster than a 10-minute mile, I did get in a groove.

@healthy_strides @SBSOnTheRun @CbusMarathon grilled cheesus. Love it! Glad our #motherrunner podcasts helped you through the 6 miles.
— Dimity McDowell (@dimityontherun) July 19, 2012

2. I tweeted about this morning's saving grace, and I got a reply from Dimity. I always feel super cool when like uber cool, like for real famous (to me) people, reply to tweets. I think it's why I love Nike so much. Their social media team is kick ass, and the folks behind @NikeRunning always respond to tweets and even remember that your training for stuff.

3. You love my skirt that I wore in yesterday's post. And why wouldn't you? It's pretty dern cute. I got it Old Navy - same for the top. I love that it has just a hint of orange and fuchsia in it, making it easy and fun to style. I wear it to work with the orange shirt and on the weekends with a fuchsia tank. The skirt comes in two other colors, which aren't as cute, and it's on sale (online at least) for 15 smackaroos.

Lessons in night-time treadmill running

1. Search the interwebs for a structured (and challenging) interval workout so you know exactly what you’ll be doing, making it less likely that you’ll just hang on for 20 minutes

2. Do not eat dinner – like dinner dinner – an hour before you plan to run. That is, of course, assuming that you don’t like burping up pork “fried” brown rice for half your workout. If you like that sort of thing, carry on.

3. While sitting on the couch with a bowl of Turkey Hill’s light cookie dough and watching “Girl With The Dragon Tattoo” seems like a better alternative, it’s not.

4. Find an acceptable Pandora station on your phone before starting the workout in an effort to avoid stopping several times in the warmup.

5. Creating a “Bye Bye Bye” station on Pandora does not guarantee that you’ll hear “Bye Bye Bye.” You will, however, hear “Cry Me a River” by Justin Timberlake. Though “River” is no power “jam,”  the thought of Timberlake will help you push through a tough interval.

A moment of silence, please.

6. Listening to a ’90s pop station will remind you of a better workout song than “Bye Bye Bye”: “Dirrty” by Christina Aguilera.

7. A drink of water is an acceptable reason to stop the treadmill after a tough interval. If anything, it might help get rid of the flavor of pork “fried” brown rice.

8. Pausing because you’re afraid that you can’t keep up? That is not an acceptable reason to stop. You will only run as fast as you let yourself. #OpHardcoreFit in full effect.

9. It’s a smart idea to grab a towel from the laundry pile – even if it is the dirty laundry pile – to keep next to you. It will come in handy when the sweat is literally dripping down the backs of your legs, past your ankles.

10. The bowl of ice cream that sounded so good doesn’t sound so good 41 minutes and 4 miles later. What does sound good is peppermint tea and a hot bath.

Queen of the hill

Workout: 2.52 miles on the treadmill and 1-mile walk with Denali

We were somewhere between Warsaw (Indiana - not Poland) and Chicago on Saturday when a workout in the most recent issue of Fitness magazine grabbed my attention. A walking workout. Of course, I had already been in the car with my in-laws for more than an hour so a workout walking a hamster would have caught my eye.

But anyway ...

I decided in my tired stupor this morning to give it a go and took the trusty magazine to the gym this morning so I could get my sweat on. Or at least turn my cheeks bright pink.

You start out with a 5-minute warm-up between 3.0 and 3.5 speed and a 1.0-2.0 incline. After 5 minutes, you alternate 2 minutes of "race walking" and a 1-minute recovery (at warm-up pace). The race walking settings take the speed between 3.6 and 4.2 and the incline gradually increases from 5.0 (I think) to 10.0. At some point, you get a 4-minute recovery before alternating 1 minute of race walking with 1 minute of recovery pace. There's more to it than that but I don't remember and the magazine is at my house, probably being shredded by Denali. I saw him eying the cover model ;)

He thinks he's such a ladies man.

I kept my recovery speed between 3.0 and 3.3 and my race walking speed between 3.6 and 3.8. I had a sweat but didn't feel exhausted, and the constant changes kept me from being bored, as did "Water for Elephants" on my iPod.

And since this post isn't really exciting and is lacking in details, I'll leave you with this - a sighting at the hotel gym on Sunday.

I was casually running on the treadmill when an older gent, and I say older because he had a head full of gray hair, hopped onto the treadmill next to me. He immediately bumped up the speed to 6.5 and continued to finagle with it from there. At first, I was paying attention because I was jealous and then it was because his increased speed was shaking my treadmill, making it difficult for me to keep pace. I was annoyed. I went to give him a "look" when I noticed the oddest thing. He was wearing a cotton tee, cotton shorts, white tube socks and loafers. LOAFERS, I say. They reminded me of the Eastland shoes I coveted in my Catholic elementary school days. My feet just hurt looking at him.

Have you ever seen such a thing? Got a story to top this one?