HELP! My Body Says It Is Running, But I'm Not Moving!

Today I received a question about running and I thought others might be interested in my answer.

QUESTION: "So I haven't been going too crazy but [I've been] running on the treadmill about three or four days a week for at least 30 min, I usually go 5 to 6 mph. I took a week off running cause a friend was in town and then I tried to start running outdoors so I went to a track and I couldn't even make it half a mile without stopping. I felt so heavy and weighed down and had stomach cramps and could not go any farther and I have no idea why it felt so impossible! I felt like I was 400 lbs."

I understand that that's not actually in question form, but I'm going to take it anyway.

I learned that my friend had not been running outdoors in quite some time (it's been cold, I totally get it) and that she had been running on a treadmill with the incline set at zero. When we run on a treadmill, we have to use muscles to stabilize our bodies which allow us to continuously run in place. When we run outside, we need to propel our bodies forward. That's why, after four years of being a treadmill queen, I found myself unable to run a half of a mile outside without feeling like I was dying.

There's an easy solution to this - set your treadmill to an incline of 1.0 or 1.5 and this will help mimic the conditions of running outside. I've read some articles claiming to never go above 1.5, but when I'm feeling really baller, I'll set the incline as high as 5.0 and have my way with it.

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Day of the Dreadmill

It's been cold and today's weather was a constant drizzle. Not exactly how I'd like to spend a long run. But since I definitely needed to get at least 10 miles in this weekend, I mentally prepared myself and drove to Equinox to run on the treadmill.

I told myself I would run 12 to 15 miles - basically whatever I could get in before my mother texted me to say that dinner was almost ready.

The Caumsett 50K is next Sunday, and you might remember from previous years that the course is a 5K loop. Yup, 10 times around a 5K loop. I'm a big fan of the 5K so this course actually makes me pretty happy. There's a porta-potty at 1.5 mile mark and I've learned from the past two years that I usually have to pee around 4.5 miles. Using this knowledge, I broke down a 12 mile run into the breaks I would probably take for the race.

I wanted to make sure that I wasn't starting off too quickly (um, yeah, might have run my first 5K loop in the 7 somethings last year), so I set the speed to 10 minute miles. It began to drive me crazy so I moved up to sub-9s and tweaked it back and forth for the first 5 miles. Then I attempted to go to the bathroom but some guy ran in before me, so I did a few shoulder presses.

I ran the next 3 miles alternating between 10 minute miles and sub-7 minute miles. I can easily run 8 miles outside, but I was really struggling on the treadmill. I was bored. My foot hurt. This idiot woman chose the freaking treadmill next to me even though there were twenty to choose from. Nothing interesting was on tv. I decided "Doses and Mimosas" could only be listened to so many times before I'd voluntarily blow out my own eardrums.

I finally got my bathroom break and got back on the dreadmill for another 4 miles. I ran the first 2.5 miles really slowly and listened to some Neon Indian. I ran most of the race listening to this awesome band last year and was able to get back into the groove imagining I was back on the course. I also played through ideal scenarios for my 5 year reunion that's coming up this June. I have a really bad habit of living things in my mind over and over before they actually happen and then the actual event always pales in comparison. Or ends up with me facing a police officer. Never a winning situation, which is why I don't like to get a heads up on events.

I felt fine at 10 miles but I got the text from my mom saying dinner would be soon and to be honest, as long as I reached 12 miles, I felt comfortable calling it a day. I switched over to my workout mix and pounded in the last 1.5 miles listening to "Jump" and "Starships" and running 6:53s.

check out that sweet tie-dye tech shirt

I'm pretty proud of myself for running 12 miles on a treadmill because I have never run that far on one. I'm also pretty sure I will never be running that far on one again. Show your love and consider donating $12 to my fundraising campaign for Rock the Ridge.

It's Going to Be a Long Road Back

I got out of bed today. That's a plus.

I set my alarm for 6:15 this morning and finished this Nelson DeMille book I've been reading so I wouldn't have any excuses about going to the gym or doing work later. I finally got out of bed around 7:45 and went to scrounge around for workout clothes. I don't fit into any of my cute outfits and settled on a pair of black pants and a TFA t-shirt. I did not color coordinate. I am sad.

I ran 7 miles on the treadmill in the subterranean workout area at the Roslyn Equinox. I'm embarrassed for my fellow fitness enthusiasts to see me, which is why I exiled myself to this depressing little space. I'm not sure why I'm willing to advertise my overweight, sluggish status on the Internet but I am unable to attend a group fitness class, but I guess it might have something to do with the visuals.

Running on the treadmill sucks. It's boring and every mile seems to take forever. My feet also hurt a lot more quickly when I run on the treadmill than when I run outside on the pavement. I forced myself to wear my heart rate monitor (I had to expand the strap!) and at least I burned 830 calories for my effort.

I strictly measured out my breakfast using my food scale, because I need to structure my eating. Actually, I need to structure my entire life at this point. Now I'm trying to mentally wrap my mind around the fact that today is Sunday. Eff.