Conquering my fear of the treadmill

Oops, I haven't written in awhile. Oh well.

This morning I conquered my fear of the treadmill!  Previously, I avoided the treadmill like the plague. I had visions of my uncoordinated self thumping along on the machine like a hippo trying to do the ballet before spectacularly flying off the back end and wiping out a whole section of unsuspecting gym-goers. However, I'd heard colorful reports of men exposing themselves to women on the trail, masturbating in front of them and others trying to abduct them, so I decided that rather to subject myself to any of those unpleasant fates it would be better to attempt the treadmill. I'd stick to the trail if I had someone to run with during these scheduled solo run days, but I don't, so here we are. I have to say, I broke more of a sweat during the 20 minutes I spent huffing and puffing on the treadmill than I do when I'm running with the group. I'm happy to report that as much as I resisted that machine, I found a lot of value in it for training. I can easily do the run/walk training, for example, since the clock's right there and I can push a buton and have to keep up with it rather than looking at my watch and figuring out when I started whatever portion I'm on. Maybe I'll walk a minute, jog a minute, run a minute, jog a minute, repeat. Who knew? (Don't answer that. I know many people know of the benefits of treadmills.)

I missed the Saturday run last week due to an excess of sangria the previous night with my lovely friend Erin. I wasn't hungover, just not willing to get out of bed.

I'm a little dubious about my ability to run 3.1 miles in 2 months. Maybe I can, particularly with this newfound treadmill doohickey. I signed up for a 10K (6.2 miles) in October. Since I signed up early I get a free jacket. Score! This race swag may actually have people mistake me for an active individual.

What else ... I replaced my bike last week. Mine got stolen in Denver and I've missed it. I rode (along those same creep-infested trails) to Lake Needwood last Friday. It was fun! I didn't see any creeps.