I gave the treadmill a try today. I didn't have any goals for today's run except to just see how it feels to run on it and run on it barefoot.
I started out by walking and slowly increased the speed every few minutes until I was finally running. I only took it up to 5mph and kept it there for about 30 minutes or so and then slowed it back down to walking. Total time was a little less than an hour.
In a twist that hasn't been possible with road running, I watched a movie while I ran (Kick Ass).
I thought the funniest part was when Nicolas Cage was talking like Adam West's Batman. Kick Ass just kept looking at him with this "What the hell?" look on his face.
I almost fell off the treadmill a couple of times because I was watching the movie to the point of not keeping track of where I was on the belt. I almost shot off the back a couple of times. That could have been funny except that I put the treadmill right back against the wall so there was no back to actually shoot off of. Instead, I would have just been pinned at the belt tried to drag the skin off of my body.
The balls of my feet are a little sore just from the abrasiveness of the belt. I think that if I keep doing it, the skin will toughen up and that problem will be solved.
As much as I thought I would never run on a treadmill, I actually enjoyed it. I rarely watch movies even though I would like to watch them more so maybe I'll be able to combine the two activities.
A treadmill is also going to make intervals easier too. With the clock and the speed settings, I can set up any intervals that I want.
For those of you with treadmills, what are your favorite things about running on them?
