Back to the Treadmill

I had planned to run early this morning, but, for the third time in four days, I awoke with a bad headache. When I began to feel better, life kicked in: hauling kids hither and yon and the like. Given that we were under a heat advisory, i decided to return to the gym and to run on the treadmill.

Today's was also my first run in a week. I don't usually plan for a running hiatus, yet I also won't allow myself to go more than a week without running. I've read that after 10 days, one begins losing aerobic fitness (or capacity or whatever), so after too many days without a run, I'm usually motivated to get back to it.  Still, a hiatus gives those parts of the musculoskeletal system that experience the most stress a rest, and that can't be a bad thing.

Before running, I did 25 crunches--my usual these days, although I need to start increasing the number to 30--and I could tell that I was pushing the muscles more than they were expecting.  This is what a one-week hiatus will do.

Unlike my last time on the treadmill, I worked walk breaks into my run this time. I was able to go six miles a bit more comfortably than the last time, but I also took longer. Still, I maintain that one benefit of running on a treadmill is that it allows me to measure how I'm doing. It also makes it possible to set speed goals that can be achieved by changing the machine's settings. So, I have a new goal: I'm going to attempt to finish my six-mile run on the treadmill in one hour. I set this goal hoping for a payoff in speed when I hit the trails again.