Treadmill Talk - 30K Pace Run

It was raining cats and dogs today, so rather than treat myself to a nice soggy Long Run to the tune of 30K, I decided to do my long run on a *GASP* treadmill. Now, there are several schools of thought on the treadmill. For one, it's less of a challenge. You just have to lift your leg enough for the treadmill belt to pass under your feet. You're not so much propelling your body forward as hovering. Secondly, the terrain stays the same, thus keeping your leg in one position for the duration of your workout. On a trail run, or running outside virtually anywhere, there are hills, uneven surfaces, rocks, curves and stumps to keep your muscles guessing and reacting. On a treadmill, you can adjust the elevation (which I always keep at 0.5 AT LEAST) but you're really just doing a straight, flat run. It's artificial. BUT, it allows me to pace myself, since I don't own a GPS or heart rate monitor.

Here's my challenge: The cardio machines at the Public Pool only allow a maximum of 30 minutes' use at a time. Being sly, I pushed mine to 40 minutes, and signed up for 3 separate machines one after another. At some larger gyms, there are enough treadmills so you don't have to do this, you can do a 2.5 hour session without stepping down from the machine once, during a screening of Goodfellas on Showcase. True Story. But, for $5 admission, I'll take what I can get.

Okay, for this to work, I need to run at my race pace or better the whole time. These machines are calculating in Miles, so I have to do a little quick math inside my head. 40 Minutes per 10 Kilometers or 6 Miles. 30Km/18Miles = 2 hours. That's 9 Miles Per Hour. Perfect. I have my base.

Setting up the machine at 9 Miles Per Hour to start off, I thank my lucky stars I had a 20 minute walk to warm things up. The lunges and squats I did in the parking lot are helping out too. Everything seems to be going alright. I creep up to 9.5 Miles per hour and figure out an interval system:

1/2 a Mile at 9MPH, followed by 1/2 a Mile at 9.5 MPH. It's JUST enough of a difference for my legs to notice. I want to be roughly paced out here, but I want to make that 9MPH pace seem like the rest period. That, my friends is how I build my base. Surprisingly, I held out for the entire 40 Minutes. That worked out to a little more than 6 Miles, but I'll call it 6.

After a quick wipe-down of treadmill #1, I grabbed some water and hit up treadmill #2, right back at 9MPH. No rest for the wicked! The first 1/2 Mile flew by, and I cranked it up to 10 this time. I know I'll be eating a Power Gel in about 10 minutes, so I can afford to burn a few calories. 20 Minutes in and I've passed the 3 Mile Mark, or 5Km, however you want to look at it. I take a few sips from my water bottle and chomp down the sugary, caffeinated Electrolyte Gel. It takes a couple of minutes, but I can soon feel my legs lifting up more effortlessly, my brain begins to dance in the sugary delight, and I'm off to the races again. How about 10 Miles Per Hour? Sure, half a mile won't kill me. From 10, down to 9, back and forth to the 40 minute mark. Before I even knew it, I killed 20KM. I'm liking this treadmill stuff so far. Everything feels good. Now, onto treadmill #3.

There's a sign on the wall that says that during heavy activity, our bodies require 1 cup of water every 15 minutes. There's no way in hell I've had that much water, and by the looks of the sweat pool under Treadmill #2, I've lost more than the average human. I'm kind of like a sno-cone left outside in the sun for a while. My wrapper is all soaked, and there's nothing left behind to vouch for my existence other than a large puddle of sticky, gross liquid. I'm a sno-cone.

The last stretch is always the hardest. I sip cool water to keep my body temperature down, and pick a spot on the wall to focus on. It's the white border of a STAFF ONLY sign on the equipment room door. It's right at eye height, so it's a good zoner-outer. My legs are feeling sluggish again, but there's no point eating another Gel. It's time to burn up what's left in the ol' energy stores. When I'm working hard, I can smell the finish line and it only motivates me more. Let's Giver! Screw the intervals. It's 9.5 Miles per hour or nothin. I'm on my horse and we're in a good rhythm. At this rate, I'll be finished 10K in under 40 Minutes. And that's just what I did! As the 6 Mile marker rolled over, I pressed the "Cool Down" button and gradually slowed down to a walk for the last 2 minutes, taking some extra-long steps to stretch out the hips and hamstrings. Ahhhhh

Here's the weird thing: When I stepped off the treadmill, my body felt all weird and like my legs didn't want to be planted on the ground. It was really easy to lift my legs up, but I had this swimming feeling in my head, sort of like a gentle head rush. After wiping down the machine, I downed some water and headed to the sauna. I might as well keep this sweat going and let all the toxins seep out of my pores. When I'm good and drained out, I replace my mineral losses with a Recovery Drink and venture out on my 20-minute Cooldown walk back to my humble abode. It's still raining, but I managed to change into dry clothes, fresh socks and shoes, and I've never felt better. I'll sleep well tonight.



*Tip: Treadmills, while not good to use all the time, can help to simulate a longer run at race pace, assuming that the treadmill is accurate, and the runner is using a natural, comfortable stride, extending the leg and lifting the knee. Throw a treadmill into your training schedule once a week, or do like I did: save it for a rainy day.