When old enemies become friends.

Last night's tempo run was a good one. It was 1 hour broken up into a warm up, 15 minutes in HR zone2/3, 20 minutes in Zone 4, ending with 10 min cool down. Since it was cold, dark, and raining (Again) I decided to do it on the treadmill. I have always HATED the treadmill (this would be the enemy I mentioned in the title). But this year I've turned over a new leaf. I'm starting to find some benefits to running on it. Over the past few weeks I've done my tempo type runs on the treadmill and have noticed a few things:

1. I'm not as sore or tired the next day since the surface is more cushioned then running on the road.
2. When running at faster paces I am able to really focus on form, stride, and breathing. I've found that if I really concentrate on breathing and keeping my form relaxed I can drop my HR up to 5 beats without changing the speed at which I am running. Being able to focus on this with the real time feedback of my HR in big read numbers on the treadmill is great. I'm finding I am able to hold a more constant relaxed stride for longer periods of time since I've been focusing on it.
3. I also find that I am more likely to push myself a little when there is 50 other people around me on treadmills and stair climbers. Realistically I know no one is paying attention to what I am doing, but when I start to get tired I tell myself that everyone is watching so don't slow down.
4. When I'm done I have a whole area right there designed for stretching with all of the tools I need. So I usually get in some really good stretching. When I run outside and get home I am usually cold and wet and the last thing I want to do is stretch. Not to mention the dog is usually waiting at the door expecting his evening exercise. He's not very patient.

So, I am pretty surprised that the treadmill and I have worked it out. Granted it's only one run a week that I'm on it, but that's one more then I have been able to do in the past. Now if the indoor bike trainer and I could just be friends... We are still trying to work out our differences.



Also, last night while running at the gym I had a "moment". There was a husband and wife working with a trainer in front of the treadmill I was on. It looked like their first session. They were both middle aged, some what over weight and seemed unfamiliar with many of the things the trainer was having them do. This got me thinking back to when I first started working out and trying to loose weight. I realized it's been 9 years this spring... Wow how time flies. But damn am I glad I did it when I was young. Seeing this couple now in their early 40's made me realize how fortunate I am that I fixed things when I did. The longer you wait to change the harder it is to actually make the change. Even by changing my lifestyle when I did it still took me 9 years to get to where I am today... I still feel like I have a long way to go. Ok, so I will probably never actually "Get" to where I want to be. The goals always seem to stretch as you make progress. I guess that's what keeps me going. Personally I would have a really hard time having an active lifestyle without some kind of goals to work towards. If there is anyone reading this that is thinking about making big changes, Get On it! The clock is ticking...