Woohoo! The treadmill won't beat me!

[Guest guest]

I just got done with my 20 minute cardio. Okay, maybe not just

now. I have had time to cool off, make dinner, eat dinner, and surf

the web for a bit. Oh and post a wise-a$$ remark about eating 76

meals a day... As always don't take me too literally.

But, anyways... As anyone that knows me knows, I am a fan of the

treadmill. And anyone familiar with my " OUCH!!! " post a few months

ago would wonder as to my sanity when I profess that I still love

the treadmill. My lower body conditioning, of course, took a nose-

dive after that. Let's face it... I was walking with a cane for a

while... And then it was way too easy to use " I'm letting my ankle

heal " as an excuse to not work out.

All of my cardio workouts have been less than I had hoped. I stayed

moving the entire 20 minutes each workout. Though, sometimes just

barely. Shin and calf cramping (no doubt intensified by DOMS from

just coming back to weight lifting) were the main culprits. So

Tuesday I decided to give my calves more time to recover (I had just

done lower body the day before) and hit the recumbant bike instead

of the treadmill. To be honest, it was a bit of a mental defeat

admitting to myself that I couldn't hack it on the treadmill yet.

So fast forward to today. I get down to the gym. Luckily, my

favourite treadmill is open. Things are already starting to look

up. And it is after 7 PM so all of the other yuppies like myself

are busy watching Friends and Survivor and not in the gym. The TV

was set to Profiles from the Front Line. I was happy. This way my

wife and I can watch Friends, Survivor, E.R., Are You Hot, etc.

together when she gets home and I won't know what happened on any of

them. Did I mention we have three VCRs? All to record one night.

It is sad, really.

Anyways, I get on the treadmill and set it to 3 miles per hour. A

nice little warm-up for me. Then I break into a jog and set the

speed at 5 miles per hour. So, far so good. I'm even staying up on

my toes without my calves cramping up. I bump it up another mile

per hour. Then another. Then another. Oops. I'm feeling a little

twinge in my left knee. I'm really the last guy you'd expect to

have an old football injury. And, no I wasn't carrying a trombone

when it happened. But, I make it through the minute without

anything amiss happening.

I'm feeling pretty good. I'm going to make it this time. Okay, it

got tough there around my third intensity level 8 and I had to grab

the bar for a few seconds and give my feet less of a pounding. But,

when I go back around to the 9, I made sure I was under pure leg

power.

My last set and I'm doing great. I'm sweating like crazy, my quads,

hams, and calves are all starting to get that deep burn, but my

breathing is steady (if somewhat resembling a steam locomotive) and

my shins haven't complained yet. 18:00 starts approaching and I get

ready to take it up to warp speed... 9 miles per hour. This is the

speed I was going when I tripped. So, I now have a bit of a

fear/mental block associated with this number. Before I know it the

machine says 18:30. It is amazing how time flies when you are

thinking " Please don't trip. Please don't trip. " The next fifteen

seconds get harder. Of course it is all in my head at this point.

And the last 15 seconds didn't resemble so much a sprint as much as

a " If I take REALLY big steps I'll have to take fewer of them "

approach to running.

I immediately slow the machine down to 3 mph and walk. Of course, I

don't look as triumphant as I feel. No manly stride here... I'm

moving but doubled over trying to catch my breath. At 20 minutes I

fumble for the " button. " I say fumble because, of course it isn't

raised and I have to massage the orange painted area until the

sensor decides I've tickled it in just the right way. But, I am

handsomely rewarded for my efforts. The red LED display now reveals

2.06 miles!

It felt so good to make it through the entire workout without

letting myself down. And to see myself break that 2 mile barrier.

I'll get that up to 2.5 miles by the end of the 12 weeks!

Dan L.

C1W2D4...M2.06!