Born again plodder.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

The sight of runners on treadmills always reminds me of mice in those little wheel thingies, but I too, have now joined their ranks, having taken delivery of a now aptly-christened 'dreadmill', the intent of which is to rejoin the running ranks without crushing my joints into the dreaded concrete and bitumen, which has been my primary running surface thus far.

To be fair, there are heaps of benefits to dreadmills: climate control, availability of food and drink, lots of numbers (great for number sluts like me), your choice of hilly or flat running etc. etc. In my case, I also have a great view, as I've located the beast in a front room overlooking the Derwent River, which is far more pleasant than my more usual experience of rubbish bins and exhaust pipes on buses. Well some of you might remember some of the photos I've posted in the past of the excellent tracks in the Adelaide Hills, where I used to do some of my runs, but I am trying to be positive about the thing...

But in point of fact, the sheer bliss of running on a forgiving surface for a change is brilliant. I wish I 'd headed down this road ages ago. Oh well, tis never too late.

Of course the main challenge at the moment is keeping off the thing, as I am a newbie all over again, wanting to rack up loads of enthusiastic mileage, but thus far I am being suitably restrained. No great pace, and no long runs for a while yet.

But it's a (re)start. And great to be back.

Here's a pic of the view from home. The treadmill view is not too dissimilar!

[El Gordo]

Wow, that's some treadmill view, even if only approximate. Imagine the wall of a Siberian prison cell circa 1954... that's my treadmill scenery.

[Sweder]

Nice view indeed. Good to see you back on your pins, albeit indoors.
You're right of course.
'tis better to have run and crocked
than never to have run at all'

Dreadmills fill me with irrational horror. I managed 45 minutes on one in Delhi last summer (the alternative was a terrible roadside death) but my will to live walked out long before half way.

'Running surfaces' is an interesting subject. I extoll the virtues of the offroad life, convinced the yielding downland is better for creaking joints than concrete or tarmac. SP eschews the lopers' life, claiming (rightly) that offroad circuits offer all manner of career-ending possibilities in the form of hidden rabbit holes, bogs, mad horsemen, rocks et all. The great problem with my argument is whenever an offroader enters a road race they suffer additionally due to the excess pounding of the ankles, knees and hips, whereas perusers of the pavement are well prepared for the harder surface.

The great news is you're back running, which should keep you off the beer.
For a while, anyway.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

The great news is you're back running, which should keep you off the beer.

I do very much hope that was intended as a joke, Sweder.

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Imagine the wall of a Siberian prison cell circa 1954... that's my treadmill scenery.

Well that's what you get for bagging Bush. How is Guantanamo Bay this time of year, anyhow?

[Sweder]

Tongue firmly in cheek, Mr Crisis Man

[Mid Life Crisis Marathon Man]

Thus far the treadmill experiment has been very encouraging. Encouraging enough to visit the running shop yesterday and hand over two arms (they wanted an arm and a leg, but I argued I'd only then need one shoe) for a pair of Adidas Supernovas (embarrassing name, but a great shoe), and an option on my soul for some extra cushioning inserts and a pair of Thorlo socks. Interesting to note that the socks cost more than a pair of Dunlop Volleys.

I had to take along my bank manager and payroll officer from work to prove I could pay for these items, but in the end they agreed to negotiate. And once I've bought another three pairs of shoes from them, I can have my wife back... :p

As to the running... well nothing to get excited about, but three short, solid runs with minimal fuss from the joints, and no muscle soreness at all have got me bouncing around all terribly excited about running again. Dangerous enthusiasm, really, but thus far I'm being suitably restrained in my return. And the other big plus for me about using the treadmill is that I can far more easily control my pace and not overdo it. And so I have at long last discovered it's more than possible to get a great endorphin hit from a run without having to kill yourself in the process. Makes the whole motivation thing a lot simpler, that's for sure.

So while it's waaaay too early to be making race plans naturally I've been thinking it through, and if all goes well ... well, I won't quite allow myself the luxury of putting my thoughts down here yet, as there's a lot of water to pass under the bridge before then. But suffice to say that having had my marathon training thrown out once already (in my defence it took a spell in intensive care to do it) I am not about to let dodgy knees ruin everything again without exploring all the options.

By the way, I've made an astounding discovery: stout, it seems, is a very effective anti-inflammatory. Admittedly the side-effects preclude it from being used prior to a run, but as an after-run tonic it's brilliant.

Oh happy days