Unlike the typical social-media "influencer", I am going to share times when things did not turn out well.
Frankly, I learn more from my mistakes than from when things go perfectly. Not sharing my mistakes or embarrassments is both a lie-of-omission and it deprives all of my readers of a chance of an inexpensive (for you) lesson.
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I went in for my treadmill session this morning fully expecting a GREAT "run". Today was the two-week mark and I fully expected to have nearly all of the restart issues worked out.
I was disappointed.
"My" treadmill at the gym already had somebody using it, so I had to use a different piece of equipment. And therein lies the story.
I picked a treadmill that was directly beneath a ceiling fan. Being a fat, old man of Central European and Irish extraction I sweat. Sometimes I sweat a lot! I thought some additional ventilation might be just-compensation for not getting my preferred treadmill.
As noted in an earlier blog-post, I was already feeling kind of beaten up. I have been doing a lot. Nevertheless, I had high hopes.
Right from the beginning I was struggling. My legs had no spring to them. My core had aches-and-pains. I was huffing-and-puffing I was really having to work right from the beginning.
My bpm zoomed up right at the first 6.0 mph interval (it usually takes 3-to-6).
I dropped the incline from 1.0% to 0.5% and I was still struggling.
I bagged it at 30 minutes/2.0 miles.
One the way back to the locker room, your humbled scribe stopped by the desk where the staff sits and I commented that the incline on machine I was using seemed significantly steeper than my normal machine. I asked how often they validate the leveling.
The man at the desk said they did it every night.
And then the woman at the desk added...."Some of our machines don't drop back to zero after a client finishes his session."
"SAY WHAT?" I replied.
"Yeah, I have to go up 5% and then manually run it back down to the percent I really want" she elaborated.
Sounds about like what you have to do with a lathe to deal with "slop" in the bed-screws.
I know it sounds like I am making excuses, but my dismal performance would be understandable if I had hopped on a machine that had been running at 2% grade and did not re-zero. Then I added another 1% and then dropped down 0.5% for a net 2.5% grade.
0.5% grade SHOULD be visibly imperceptible. It is a RCH less than a quarter-inch of vertical in 48" of horizontal (useful info if you are using a 48" long bubble-level). If you can see it then it is more than a 0.5% grade.
I suggest you take the "high" road and try to get over it.
ReplyDeletePretty soon it will be dry enough to run outside. The scenery is more to my preference.
DeleteI wonder how much it would cost for the treadmill mfg to include a graduated bubble level showing the incline?
ReplyDelete1) It might be cheaper than designing the electronics and controls to set incline.
2) It also might display the sloppiness and built-in error of the treadmill.
3) It might be installed so sloppily that it is a negative rather than a positive.
4) Could the bubble level be replaced with a treadmill reference point-to-floor measurement?
Nicely said. And honestly? I learn more from mistakes too - either my own or other peoples' if they're willing to share them.
ReplyDeleteEver see a machinist add to the cutter another two thou. on a manual machine? Instead of directly dialing it in, he'll back it off four, five turns. Then fwd to previous measurement, then add in the add'tl.
ReplyDeleteBeen doing the treadmill thing with the other hamsters at the local gym. One thing I've always pondered. Is a mile on the treadmill same energy expenditure as on the pavement? I've found nothing but sources saying it's same, but it doesn't feel so to me. I'm thinking de-rating for the treadmill, like 1.2 mi to 1 real world.