Dreadmill Friday

This morning found me prevaricating about where to run. Last night I had thoughts of returning to the Brampton Valley Way for a gentle run, but there was a definite chill in the air this morning. This was confirmed by our very technical weather monitoring equipment in the garden. Yes, the birdbath was frozen. Erring towards caution and to protect my little lungs, I opted for a trip to the gym. I have reached the outer edges of the cold/URTI that has been with me for the past couple of weeks or so. Images of the recently photographed Ultima Thule come to mind, a snowman hurtling round the belt that keeps our solar system together. My sources tell me that Kuiper Belts are going to be in demand in Primark stores shortly.

So, after quite a long break, it was back on the dreadmill for me today. It is boring, and there is no way of getting away from that fact. In fact, on a dreadmill, there is no way of getting away from anywhere – it is the nature of the beast. You expend a lot of energy getting nowhere. However, it does have some advantages. Firstly, the rubber belt is relatively low impact, thus protecting your joints. Secondly, you are never far from where you started, so you don’t have far to limp back embarrassingly following a fall or when you are completely whacked. Thirdly, you have complete control over the variables of pace and incline, so you can compare your progress session to session. It is a good way to introduce graded hill running.

The main aim today was to begin building my stamina, which I feel has fallen off over recent weeks. I set a slow pace of 7.5km/hr at a steady incline of 4 for a period of 31 minutes, plus a 5-minute cool-down period. This was followed by some gentle stretching.

So, overall, reasonably successful if not amazingly satisfying or enjoyable. I was pleased to have climbed the equivalent of  almost 500 feet during this short run, which is great for improving my hill running (my bète noir).

Additional observation…

I had a bit of a shock yesterday when I weighed myself for the first time in a while. The minor excesses of the festive period and the drop in activity levels have taken their toll. Could I blame the scales for being inaccurate? Hardly  – they are the ones used by the Eating Disorders Service I work for! Now, where can I order one of those Kuiper belts…?