The Super Duper Hotel Treadmill

Last week Don and I went to a Blues Festival for the weekend which we've been doing for the past 3 years.  We usually stay in a hotel one night and at my brother's one night.  We were going to skip staying in a hotel this year but at the last minute we decided to go for it.  Friday afternoon I got a hotel deal email and by the time I got home from work Don had it booked.  It was spontaneous and exciting except when would I do my long run??  I was scheduled to do a 22K Saturday.  Oh well I'll figure that out later. 

We love hotel gyms.  They are so sparkly and new.  We walked in the great smelling gym and it was like a candy store.  I didnt know what to try first.  I went on a couple machines but got very frustrated.  I didnt know how to work them and some of them looked like transformers that would chew me up.  I decided to stick with my tried and true treadmill.  But these were oh so amazing treadmills!  Treadmills bascially all work the same so I was excited.  They were massive with all the bells and whistles, a huge dashboard and TV and there were so many lined up in front of a wall mirror. 

I usually dont like working out in front of a mirror.  When I used to go to group classes I would purposely stay outside of the mirror view.   Simply because it was shocking to see how much taller I was than everyone else and my King Kong arms would be flinging every where.  I preferred to imagine myself fitting in with everyone else. 

Anyways this treadmill was amazing!  I climbed up onto it and felt like I was up on a stage.  It wasnt hard to figure out so I started running and relunctanly watched myself in the mirror.  I kind of looked cool.  My hair was hanging in my face and I looked tough.  My King Kong arms looked tanned and musclely.  Look at me go, Im a running machine! 

In my gym at home I usually work up to speed 6 / 6.5 and put it up to 7  a few times for a couple minute fartleks.  Its amazing how your environment  and a little competition can make you run faster!  A few ladies around my age came in the gym with their fancy Lululemon (although I was wearing Lululemon but I only have one) and my speed went up some more.  The treadmills were filling up with more richy hotel people (although I was staying at the hotel but mine was a deal) and up went my speed again.  I stayed at speed 7 the whole time and did some 8/9 fartleks.  What a great workout!

So I switched my scheduled runs around a bit.  I did a 5K tempo on Saturday at the hotel and then did my 22K long run Monday night after work.  It was tough and a little crazy but I had to get it in and it felt so good to git r done.  See I can be spontaneous AND stick to a schedule!  With a little help from an awesome transformer mega hotel treadmill that turned me into a running machine!