You know your a runner when . . .

The only good thing about business travel with crappy weather in the forecast is the ability to check out and compare the fitness facilities. On my recent trip to Edmonton I was shut out of my usual haunts due to not booking early and the Grey Cup being held on the weekend. As such I checked out the Ramada in the not so downtown core. The rates were cheap due to its less than desirable location.

You know you’re a runner when you choose a hotel based on the treadmill you see in the photos of the fitness room or the proximity to a good trail or a track. This year alone I have chosen a hotel because:
1) It was on the marathon course I was running in the fall and I could preview the course this way.
2) It was about a mile from the only track in town and I had an interval workout scheduled.
3) It was less than a mile from a well known trail I had heard or read about.

All sad and yet all true. Yes I have an addiction!

So the Ramada Inn in Edmonton not only had a great rate but a great treadmill. Typically I prefer to run outdoors no matter what the conditions but this hotel was in a bad part of town AND it was -25C with snow on the ground. I know when to stay inside (most times).

The treadmill au jour was a sweet LifeFitness commercial grade model. After my workout I pondered purchasing just such a beast to replace the Sears/Walmart residential strength model I have in the basement. The comparison of the two makes you lean toward the LifeFitness brand for sure. The LifeFitness treadmill has a wide deck probably about 20” or so. The length of which I could probably lie down on (okay it was 60" but it felt longer). The decking itself was a thick rubber. And I could actually hear myself think or listen to Oprah, not like my home jobby that is more akin to a Harley Davidson Fat Boy idling with 88 cubic inches of pure thunder. This beauty also inclines to 15% whereas my home model goes to 6%. The differences clearly favored the LifeFitness right up until the price tag. LifeFitness treadmills start at about $2500. Yup that’s right I didn’t add an extra zero by mistake. Ah well, I’ll stick to my bought and paid for Sears special (gratis by my Mom who was gonna throw it away after her exercise New Year’s resolution failed).

I was inspired to run the treadmill after watching a Youtube video of Tony ”Naked Guy” Krupicka, the superhuman ultrarunner having a treadmill race against James Bonnett , another ultrarunner sponsored by The North Face. Check it out, It is pretty nuts! If you notice they start the race at 15% grade. I’m guessing the pace is like 8 mph. I tried 15% and made it up to about 5mph but had to stop because I feared getting shot off the back if I stumbled. Enjoy!

Am I a Mileage Fraud?

I think I’m a little anal retentive when it comes to mileage. When I first got my new Nike+ I was sure to calibrate it. I wanted every mile to be earned. Out to the track I went. The local track is is your basic 400 meter oval and I went for the requisite 400m trip around. I was sure to warm up first because I wanted my stride to be natural. I went for a lap, pressed stop and I got an error message. I did this several times with the preset 400m distance to no avail. Finally I punched in a custom distance of 0.4 km and off I went. By now I had run about 3 miles before I finished my calibration for 400m but I got it done.

Now some 25 runs later and about a 160 plus miles later, I find myself stuck in a winter wonderland of Kelowna. The sidewalks were covered in ice and so I retreated to the treadmill. I start my Nike+ and the treadmill at roughly the same time. After the first mile on my iPod the treadmill says 0.95 miles. WTF At first I thought maybe I didn’t start them at the same time after all. So I kept going fully expecting the two mile mark to come in at the 1.95 miles (taking into account my starting error). Much to my chagrin it came in at 1.90 mile, once again a full 0.05 miles off.

Needless to say after 5 miles on the Nike+, the treadmill was reading 4.75 miles. WTF! Is all my mileage off by 5%. Am I a mileage fraud? I’m going to re-test my mileage on a track. Maybe the treadmill needs calibrating. I’m going to run 2000 meters on the track which is exactly 5 laps. I’ll see exactly what the Nike+ reads and if it is still under I’ll re-calibrate at a longer distance like 2000 meters. If it is close or over then I’ll leave it. Oh the horror of being a Mileage Fraud.

The Dreadmill

Here I am stuck in Kelowna BC. Under any other circumstances Kelowna is an athlete's dream city. In the summer they host several Tri's, a marathon, several fun runs. It's about half an hour from Penticton home of Ironman Canada. It is beautiful up here. Except when several freeze-thaws have left the streets with an inch of ice and the current temperature is -20C not including wind-chill.

Yeah I'm a wuss but I'm not a quitter so I head off for the dreaded treadmill. The dreadmill. No matter how you slice it: Steep incline, faster speeds, ESPN blaring from the TV in front of you. It truly earns the moniker.

Every winter for at least a couple of days in a row either snow or ice prevents the run from happening. I think my karma says it's time to put your feet up. First karma gives you subtle hints that you are pushing it. You know soreness that won't go away. Insomnia. You don't listen and push harder. So Karma deals you a full on snow storm. So you go inside to the dreadmill.

The dreadmill deprives you of everything sweet about running. The sights, the sounds. The wind in your face, the deep coolness of the air you breathe. That rush from charging up a small easily conquered hill. Give me the outdoors any day.

I'll be back. Yeah I’ll be back