Treadmill workouts

Today the weather was very wet. I still went for a walk about an hour before sunset, which is to say 3:30, but by mid-evening I was still some 1500 or so steps short of my 10,000-step goal. I contemplated, not liking any of the options and kind of wishing I was on a tropical beach somewhere working on a nice tan. Since I am not magic, I went on the treadmill instead, figuring a 15-minute workout would net me the required steps.

It did! Even though I am very bad at math, it pushed me to 10,811 steps. The lateness of the workout also meant I got a new badge:

Stats:

Speed: 6.0-6.5
Incline: 1

Pace: 9:05/km (8:54/km)
Time: 15:00 (20:00)
Distance: 1.65 km (2.25 km)
Calories burned: 145 (185)
BPM: 119 (125)

Much like the last time I was on the treadmill, I found myself mid-evening with only 8,000+ steps and pondered what to do:

• A walk around the neighbourhood in the dark (but no rain)?
• A jaunt on the treadmill?

In the end, the treadmill won out, so I did a compact 20-minute workout and got my steps in. My streak continues, plus I got some actual exercise.

Stats:

Speed: 6.5-6.7
Incline: 1

Pace: 8:54/km (8:45/km)
Time: 20:00 (26:25)
Distance: 2.25 km (3.02 km)
Calories burned: 185 (299)
BPM: 125 (138)

Come 9 p.m. and I only had about 8,000 steps on the day. Inadequate! And I had just gotten another monthly badge for getting at least 10,000 steps per day. I could not break my streak and live in internal shame.

So I got on the treadmill and did a workout just like the last one, except for two things:

• I did 3K, rather than 4K
• I ramped up to 7.0 speed much faster

As a result, I burned nearly as many calories as the previous longer workout, got about 4,000 more steps and had a much higher overall BPM at 138, which is similar to a slow jog (which is kind of what this was, in a way).

The weather was fine, as it always is on the treadmill, so not much else to report. The shuffled music seemed to lean into a mix of R.E.M. and TMBG, which was fine by me.

And now I shower and sleep. But not at the same time.

Stats:

Speed: 6.5-7.0
Incline: 1

Pace: 8:45/km (8:47/km)
Time: 26:25 (35:17)
Distance: 3.02 km (4.02 km)
Calories burned: 299 (323)
BPM: 138 (121)

It’s been a while, but the weather is gross today (raining, around 9C) and I’m not 100% recovered, so I figured I’d do a nice ol’ walk on the treadmill. And I did!

I did 4 km and started at a speed of 6.5, but ramped up to 7.0 by the end, as I felt I was getting ahead of the machine. I even thought about ramping up to running speed. Maybe next time.

My training status is still Strained due to lack of proper sleep, which is affecting my HRV status (as has the last week of non-exercise). These things should right themselves soon™.

Stats:

Speed: 6.5-7.0
Incline: 1

Pace: 8:47/km (8:14/km)
Time: 35:17 (33:09)
Distance: 4.02 km (4.03 km)
Calories burned: 323 (387)
BPM: 121 (142)

(Yes, I know I had said I was going to hide all my exercise stuff from the blog, but it requires either a plugin or code, and it is not a high priority (but will be done eventually). To compensate, I have included a stock photo of a treadmill with this post to make it more visually interesting, if not stunning.)

Today I debated whether to go outside for a run. It looked like it would be around -5C to -3C in the morning and while that is better than -9C, I dithered long enough that I defaulted to the treadmill.

I kept the incline and speed the same as before, but after hitting 3 km, I started getting fidgety, and instead of stopping, I cranked the speed from 6.7 to 8.7. You can only walk at 8.7 if you have giraffe legs, which I do not. So I ran for about the last km and stopped at 4K, which is also a fine resolution.

The running part was not as horrible as I remembered, so I might just do a run from the start the next time I am on the treadmill.

Wednesday is calling for 0-2C in the morning with a chance of rain or snow, so I am uncertain where I will be running, but we’ll see!

Speed: 6.7-8.7 (6.7)
Incline: 1 (1)

Pace: 8:14/km (8:30/km)
Time: 33:09 (30.00)
Distance: 4.03 km (3.53 km)
Calories burned: 387 (292)
BPM: 142 (129)

I mean, it’s not a run day, and I have vowed to either go for a walk every non-run day, or do a treadmill workout. Today I decided to do the treadmill because it’s sitting there right behind me. It’s hard to beat that kind of convenience.

The only change from yesterday is running the speed at 6.7 the entire time. As you can see below, my pace was much faster and my BPM was lower, both nice to see. I managed to burn fewer calories, but that’s just body weirdness and rounding errors.

I can verify that I do not suffer from DMS¹Dry Mouth Syndrome when using the treadmill in January. I also gave the water bottle a better rinsing today so the water didn’t taste funny in that “not haha funny” way.

All in all, it was fine.

Speed: 6.7 (6.7)
Incline: 1 (1)

Pace: 8:30/km (8:48/km)
Time: 30:00 (30.00)
Distance: 3.53 km (3.41 km)
Calories burned: 292 (317)
BPM: 129 (133)

It was cold (near freezing) and raining this morning, with the possibility of snow, so I didn’t go for my usual Monday run.

By late afternoon, I was feeling guilty enough to get on the treadmill for half an hour. The last time I did this was eight months ago.

The most surprising part wash how weirdly easy it felt. I turned the incline to 1, the speed from 6.0 to 6.5, then to 6.7. I never felt tired, I was never thinking, “Why won’t this END?!”

It turns out that running regularly makes walking fast kind of easy!

Stats:

Speed: 6.5-6.7 (6.5)
Incline: 1 (0)

Pace: 8:48/km (9:14/km)
Time: 30:00 (37.15)
Distance: 3.41 km (4.03 km)
Calories burned: 317 (235)
BPM: 133 (119)

This was a weird combo of guilt and not really wanting to go out for a walk. I had a serving of french fries as an afternoon snack, then immediately felt bad about it, so cast about for ideas and decided to do a half hour or so treadmill workout to make amends.

I turned all the fans up to max beforehand, got my bottle of water ready and watched a few videos on YouTube. It went fine. I paused several times due to the video having technical issues, which was slightly annoying. My knees seem okay, having gone through their briskest workout since my last run, but not nearly as impactful as an actual run.

Stats:

Speed: 6.5
Incline: 0

Pace: 9:14/km
Time: 37.15
Distance: 4.03 km
Calories burned: 235
BPM: 119

I was focused on other stuff today and skipped the Friday run, intending to catch up by doing a walk in the afternoon or something.

But I got too wrapped up and missed my window. Also, the weather was kind of lousy today–wet and cold, more like winter than spring–and so I found myself mid-evening faced with either a dark ‘n soggy walk, or hitting the treadmill.

I chose the latter, but took a decidedly casual approach, tweaking the speed down from 6.5 to 6.3 and just walking for about half an hour. All of the stats are slightly lower than the last workout, as expected, but I closed my rings and have assuaged the guilt of sitting on my butt for a good part of the day.

We’ll see if my Garmin watch yells at me in the morning for exercising so close to bedtime.

Stats:

Speed: 6.3
Incline: 0

Pace: 9:39/km
Time: 30:11
Distance: 3.12 km
Calories burned: 218
BPM: 112

Yes, I’m bad. I waited until late evening to complete my rings. I just didn’t feel like going for even a short 15-minute walk. As punishment, I started a 30-minute treadmill workout shortly after 10 p.m.

Unlike recent treadmill excursions, I was rather sluggish tonight. I didn’t feel bad, but I guess I wasn’t feeling it¹Or maybe the watch didn’t accurately record the workout, maybe!. At least I didn’t go sliding off the end.

Stats:

Speed: 6.5
Incline: 0

Pace: 9:35/km
Time: 30:06
Distance: 3.13 km
Calories burned: 227
BPM: 114

It was quite nice today–mild and sunny, a perfect day for a walk.

But instead, I went on the treadmill.

I walked to the store and back, though, so I did go outside, just not for a general walk. So it’s totes OK!

What’s weird about today’s treadmill workout is I literally did not have to change any of the stats. Every stat you see below for today’s workout exactly matches yesterday’s workout. What are the odds? Also, a lot of 3s in there. Is 3 a lucky number? Will I win $3 million soon? Here’s hoping! Faintly!

Stats:

Speed: 6.5
Incline: 0

Pace: 9:13/km
Time: 30:04
Distance: 3.26 km
Calories burned: 233
BPM: 113

On my non-run days, I normally complete my exercise ring by going out for a walk. Since I walk fast and usually have a few minutes on ye olde exercise ring before heading out, I can wrap the whole thing up in less than 30 minutes. Easy peasy.

But after yesterday’s BDI¹Bad Dog Incident. See here. I didn’t really feel like strolling to the park and face the possibility of being bitten repeatedly and torn apart. So I did a 30-minute workout on the treadmill and watched some YouTube videos.

The workout was fine.

And I’ll confess, I kind of watch The Tech Chap’s videos not just because he is a knowledgeable sort of person and his videos are well-made, but also because he’s totally the kind of guy I’d be chasing after if I was magically single and 30 years old again. And if he was into guys. And a billion other factors that would need to fall into place to support my absurd fantasy scenario.

Stats:

Speed: 6.5
Incline: 0

Pace: 9:13/km
Time: 30:04
Distance: 3.26 km
Calories burned: 23
BPM: 113