Recently, we purchased a new treadmill! I cannot even express my excitment. It's so nice to be running and look out the window at the 20 inches of snow falling from the sky and below freezing temperatures, and still be sweating away in shorts and a T-shirt on the treadmill.
However, as I was running the other day, wearing the heart rate monitor Nathan gave me for Christmas, I was completely baffled at how high my heart rate was at the speed at which I was running (which I will not make public... ehem). Anyway, I convinced myself that the treadmill must be at an incline or uphill or something. Because I certainly couldn't be THAT out of shape. I ran a half marathon last summer and a 10k in October and off and on since then. Getting into it again since moving, hadn't been that long.....and you'd think all the progress I made would have kept me in somewhat good shape. As embarrassing as it was, I told Nathan, "I think this treadmill makes me run up hill; I'm so out of breath so easily and my heart rate is so high, even for the sporadic running these last few months." To which he smirked, and said, "Are you sure it's the treadmill? Maybe it's supposed to be that way to compensate for the difference between running outside and on a treadmill?" I didn't think so......So, I spent the next 24 hours walking by the treadmill, examining the angle at which it bottom sat. And I was convinced it was slanted. Not sure, if it was the floor or the treadmill, but I was sure of it.
So, while Nathan wasn't looking, at the risk of looking ridiculous, I put a tennis ball on it and watched. And sure enough............AHA!!! It rolled pretty quickly right off the back!
No wonder, I'm so relieved. Even though, I might be out of shape and have hopes of running a marathon this year, I'm not crazy or just making excuses.
Mystery solved, the treadmill is slanted.
Now we just have to figure out how to fix it as it lacks a reverse incline. And I can find out how out of shape I REALLY am and how much training is ahead of me.
2 hours ago
