Treadmill Key Jacker

I've noticed for the past week the treadmill key is sometimes missing or on the floor in some random place. I wondered what was going on when I approached the treadmill on Tuesday.

This week, we had a little bit of chilly, snowy weather, so I had to put up a fight with the treadmill -- a machine I am convinced is created to defeat people, rather than provide an opportunity to run. I was about to let it get the best of me and quit my workout after 1.5 miles, but then I reminded myself that potential failure in future races would only be caused by my lack of training. I've recently been tapping into Everything you think, whether positive or negative is an affirmation. I choose to remain positive. I completed 4.5 miles.

On Wednesday, I joined Mindy at a private pilates class in Big Bear. She suggested it would be a better cross-training alternative to the crippling Bodyworks class I took at L.A. Fitness. She was right. And the instructor: super polite, super helpful on form and posture...a total doll. Actually, a celebrity. She starred opposite Nicolas Cage in the 1980s classic Valley Girl. And not just an extra. She had second billing on the movie. I discovered this only after I checked out her website, so I didn't make any lame, embarrassing comments to her. Looking forward to going back.

Thursday, I decided to run 8 miles on the treadmill after work. I was so confident after defeating the machine on Tuesday and motivated by a potential upcoming half-marathon that I was ready to run farther than I had ever attempted while never going anywhere.

The treadmill key was on the floor again. No sooner did I plug it in that the mystery was solved.

Cats are so easy...

So I turned the Food Channel on silent so I had something to look at, cranked up my running playlist and hit the mat, jogging the miles away. When I got bored, I bumped up the speed, and recovered at my reliable 6mph (I remember when 4.5 mph was my reliable pace). If I didn't bust out the start gate so fast in my marathons, I would have a better finish time. When I hit 5 miles, I began to negotiate with myself. 6 is enough. But when 6 arrived, I knew I could make it to 7. Once I was past 7, I bumped up the speed to see how quickly I could get to 8. A quarter mile left to go and my legs were pounding the mat. I was at 72:17 when the power on the treadmill surged. It shut down and I nearly ran my gut into the control panel.

"NO! Sh*tcrapg*dd*mnits*nofab*tch!"

I ripped my headphones out of my ears and stomped in to tell Travis what happened. Nose-deep in thesamba.com, I got a courtesy acknowledgment of my plight.

I will not be defeated...

I stormed back in the room and ran a 1/4 mile in 2 minutes.

That. Felt. Awesome.

Today is a scheduled rest day, but I actually feel pretty good. I am going to do a slow 12-14 this weekend. Nell got me to sign up for the Rock N Roll Half-Marathon in Pasadena next Sunday, February 19. I am going to run it and test myself to see if I can come in around or under 2 hours. I should be able to make it in 2 hours. It's a hilly course (there's a steep 200' climb early in the race). My 13.1 personal fastest is 2:11 so I am looking forward to reaping the benefits of running since my 26.2 in Arizona.