Run, Marcy, Run!

City Mouse Now Country Mouse
No. 3

Anyone who knows me, knows that I don't run. I will gladly dance, skip, jump, saunter, swagger, and of course, walk but running has never been in my repertoire of movement. That was until I met the Cybex.

The Cybex is the treadmill pictured here. It's the newer of the two types of treadmills that are in the exercise room at the Woods. While I often describe myself as a technologist, I have discovered that when I stand in front of a piece of modern exercise equipment I become totally useless. The user interface is not familiar to me and often you are prompted to answer questions without knowing how to change the options. There in lies the crux of my issue that prompted me to run.

During the summer in Dallas I spent three to four days a week walking 5K on a treadmill at the local YMCA. I timed my visits so that I could watch NCIS or Bones during my walk and I was perfectly happy to walk at 4.0 or 4.1 mph. I wanted over 100 miles between June 1 and August 10 when we left Dallas. I have not been doing my walking over the past two weeks with the move so it was time to get back on track.

So, I met the Cybex on Monday. I selected the 5K option and ffter entering my weight and age, I started walking. The program had me going slow over the first three or four minutes so I ambled along, content to watch the news on the TV. Suddenly, at the five minute mark, the Cybex kicked up to 6.0 miles per hour. Fortunately, I could feel the immediate shift in speed and I picked up my pace to match it. I must admit that I laughed out loud when I first started running; me, running?! The first few times this happened, I immediately dialed the speed back to an easy 4.1 or 4.2. After another half a dozen times, I started running for as long as I could at the 6.0 speed--first for 30 seconds, then 45 and finally up to 1 minute at a time. I also found that after running for even a short time, I could also walk at a much faster speed, 4.5. So, by the end of my workout on Monday, not only had I gotten to the end of my 5K a full 5minutes faster than I ever had in Dallas, I also was personally proud of my new accomplishment.

The Cybex and I had another go today and I shaved another 3 minutes off my time. There is nothing better than when you surprise yourself. I heartily recommend it!