I made my return to the gym in my community and to the treadmill for the first time since the start of the pandemic!
While the gym reopened earlier this year, I had yet to go because of the mask mandate. At some point, the mask mandate was dropped so I knew it was only a matter of time before I decided to run indoors.
I can’t begin to tell you how great it was to run on the treadmill again!
Runners have a love/hate relationship with the treadmill. Over the years, I definitely learned to embrace running on the treadmill, even liking it.
Over the years, I had really gotten good at speed workouts on the treadmill but with such a long break from running indoors, I wasn’t sure how my body and mind would react.
Would I jump right back into speed workouts? Would it be hard to run on the treadmill again? Could I keep up with old paces? Would I be bored?
All good questions. See below for details on my first two treadmill running experiences since March 2020!
Last Week’s Workouts:
Monday – 25 Min Advanced Yoga/Pilates Flow + 30 Min Walk
Tuesday – 3 Mile Run (outside)
Wednesday – 19 Min Power Pilates (1 lb weights) + 30 Min Walk
Looks easy but takes a lot of balance ability!
Thursday – 4 Mile Run (treadmill!)
Today the real feel was at 24 degrees so I knew it was time to run indoors!
I must say, I felt like my old running self as soon as I started.
Although I wasn’t really sure how it would go, I had the energy and desire to run on the treadmill so I literally ran with it.
I even remembered my easy run on the treadmill workout so I started with that as the warm-up mile and then picked up the pace ranging between 6.8 – 7.7, mostly between 7.0 – 7.5 (with an incline between 1.0 – 2.0) for the next three miles.
I stayed within that range because I was scared to go too fast and not be able to keep up — it’s been a while, you know?!
It’s so nice to see I can bounce back to my usual speeds on the treadmill. I really felt like my old running self again which is a great feeling.
Friday – 16 Min Power Flow (1 lb weights) + 40 Min Walk
Saturday – 5 Miles (treadmill)
I was excited to get back on the treadmill for another great run like Thursday.
While it wasn’t a formal workout, it did turn out something like this:
- mile 1: Warm-up (same as Thursday – followed my easy run on treadmill workout plan)
- mile 2 – 4: Alternating .50 mile between 7.0 – 7.5/.50 mile 7.5 – 7.7
- mile 5: Cooldown (between 6.3 – 7.0)
(incline throughout ranged between 1.0 – 3.0)
Those half miles between 7.5 -7.7 got harder with each round. At four miles, I was 30 seconds faster than my total time on Thursday which was a nice feeling.
I am so happy to be back to these types of speed workouts that I pray they don’t shut the gym/mandate masks again.
Sunday – 54 Min Full Body (1 lb weights + band)
Flashback Post of Interest: 5 Benefits of Treadmill Running For Outdoor Runners
The Cookie ChRUNicles 
Looks like you got some decent workouts done that week!
I’ve never been a big fan of running, but there’s something about doing it on the treadmill that helps me push myself a bit further and almost enjoy my cardio sessions. It’s nice to see that I’m not the only one who has enjoyed the possibility of indoor cardio after the gyms have reopened and the mask dropped.