Sunday, January 8, 2012

Runners are crazy: Part One

I don't have part two or three planned but I feel confident that they are going to come. So in that confidence I will title this Part One.

Today my plan was to come home from church, eat a light lunch, wait a bit for it to digest then go for a five mile run.  So make a quesadilla with some left over chicken from last night's dinner, put on my running clothes, fold some laundry...and it is raining.  Now I've run in the rain quite happily before. In fact all day it had been foggy and dizzily and that was fine with me. I like running in the fog, it's so quiet and isolated, kinda cool. But this wasn't drizzle or fog, this was honest to goodness rain.  Soak your shoes rain, chafe your legs rain. Ain't gonna do it rain.

So the only option is the treadmill. (See previous post for my feelings regarding the treadmill.) So I gather my Modern Family DVDs from Netflix and do the only thing a girl who hates the treatmill can do to be motivated. Appeal to my competitive side...

Baby-mama Runner: Hubby how long should I run on the treadmill?
Hubby: 90 minutes.
Baby-mama runner: No really like how long will you tell me to go so i will be ashamed to appear upstairs without finishing?  Ninety minutes ain't happening.
Hubby: OK 50 minutes. You can do it.  50 minutes. Don't come up here until 50 minutes is up.

I was ready to quit at 20 minutes.

I hate the treadmill.

I kept it up. Cam and Mitch crack me up. And I have a bit of a competitive streak.  And WAY too much pride...

Youngest daughter came downstairs and cheered me on.

Cranked the treadmill to ridiculously fast for the last 5 minutes. I finished.  50 minutes, 4.17 miles, 3 Modern Families. And I climbed the stairs to Hubby's office with my head held high.

Baby-Mama Runner: I did it! (Mouth in a kiss)
Hubby: Great! (Head turned away like something smells rotten.)

Then I notice it has stopped raining.  So what does any runner do?

 I ran my street. Fastest time ever. Here's my street.
One mile, three big hills, 157ft elevation change from start to finish.  Then you  come back. Today I did it in 17 minutes. PR. Not bad.

Runners really are crazy.

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Treadmills just plain suck

My autographed picture of The Closer cast!
I really try to like to treadmill.  Honest.  I even had The Closer to watch on it while I was running. And I love The Closer.  Can you believe there are only 6 episodes left?  I am just heart broken.  I want to be Brenda Lee Johnson when I grow up. Last Spring Macys had a pink trench coat that I soooooooo wanted just to put on when I'm trying to get the truth out of my children.  "Thank you, Thank you so much!"
Anyway, I digress just a tad. 
I want to like the treadmill because it is easy and convenient when it is 22 degrees outside like today.  But no matter what a mile on the treadmill seems like 5 miles outside.  I just kills me.  So today I watched Brenda stick it to the bad guys and made it a whole 3 miles before I just couldn't do it any more. 

Maybe the problem is that my treadmill has a odometer problem. Maybe it SAYS 3 miles but I've actually gone 6.  A girl can dream!