Wednesday, December 30, 2009

My Christmas Present!

I mentioned a few weeks ago that all I wanted for Christmas was a treadmill. I know...I don't want much, right? I also mentioned that we went to the super special treadmill store just before Christmas to order the one I wanted. It finally came on Sunday! I felt like I had to wait forever! Okay, maybe it was only two weeks, but seriously...it's cold out there.

Side note, can you believe they deliver on Sundays? Nick was talking with the setup guys and they said during the winter they're delivering seven days a week! They were delivering treadmills the day before and the day after Christmas. And in the summer time it can be so slow, they sometimes take whole weeks off.

We can officially claim that we have a home gym now. There's the weight bench (not mine). Then there's the stationary bike, row machine, and now the treadmill. I have laid claim to all the cardio equipment, although technically Nick had the stationary bike before he even met me... technically (it's really mine).

The basement is full of awesome workout equipment and toys! This is nice because it's cold outside. The cold doesn't usually bother me, but it's starting to bother me a little. The actual running in the cold is fine, but afterward I'm freezing for the rest of the day. Also, my skin is so ridiculously dry that every time I take a shower it stings. I know, I know, suck it up, right? Anyway, the cold and snow also means I can't use the running stroller so the treadmill is awesome!

Have you been wondering which treadmill we picked? Our general selection criteria was how well it will stand up to beatings. I like to really test the durability of cardio equipment. My parents like to tease me; technically, I broke two pieces of their cardio equipment when I was younger. So durability was important. Also, I don't need a lot gadgets or gizmos. Speed, incline, pace, that's all I need.

In the end, Landice came out on top. These treadmills are pretty sweet. There's a full one year warranty that includes labor, and a lifetime warranty on all the treadmill parts, ALL the parts...that's rare. There are two downsides to the Landice brand. One, there are no bells and whistles in regard to the electronics. Something I don't care about, but others might. And two, it is expensive, but these treadmills last so long that when you fill out the warranty card there's a space to name a person to inherit the treadmill warranty when you die. Okay, that sounded only slightly morbid, but still, durable. In case you're wondering, I've endowed my treadmill to Kaylee.

In other news, Christmas went well, but my workouts fell off a bit. Not so much because I couldn't fit them in, but more because I didn't feel well. Saturday I had actually laced up one sneaker and was beginning to lace up the other, when I decided I was too tired and opted to take a nap instead. This is very uncharacteristic of me, but for whatever reason I was ridiculously tired. I did get in one good run last week. I did a nine miler, started at 8:34 pace, worked my way down to 7:00 pace, and wound up averaging 7:59 pace. The rest of the week was pretty much a flop.

Training Journal 12/21-12/26
Total Miles Run: 16.6
Total Time Running: 2:17
Average Pace: 8:15
Total Time Stationary Bike: 4:10

3 comments:

Running and living said...

Congrats on the treadmill! Looks awesome! If I ever purchase one, it will be this one - I too care more for durability than gadgets, in fact, the less gadgets, the better!

So I am using the FIRST program for a 3:20 (last time I used FIRST for 3:30). I still have the 3 key workouts (track, tempo/MP, long), but have added 2x5 mile recovery runs (I do hills after one). I also try to swim 2xweek and bike 30 min during the recovery days. Will see how it goes. I started running 5 days a week about 1 month ago; so far so good.
Happy New Year!

Lindsay said...

looks nice to me! what a great christmas present :) now you won't have to suffer in the cold EVERY day!

happy new year!

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