Treadmill Tell All

Since we are all so sick this week, and after the late night Claire and I had, we took a much needed day off to stay home and watch movies and snuggle all day long.  It was fantastic!  We even got out in the sunshine to clear up our sinuses for a while and have a impromptu salmon picnic. 

(late, late night with my sick baby girl, pouting, too tired baby girl and my boy chowing down)

I took a little break from swing pushing to catch up on some of my favorite bloggers and I came across a really fun one at Run With Jess.  It struck a chord with me because my stupid beloved treadmill recently died.  I used to HATE running on the treadmill but now I really miss it.  It is almost a necessity if you are a runner mom, especially with more than one kid and one of those being way too heavy for a jogger.  There is really something to be said about hopping on the treadmill for 30 minutes while the kids nap.  SO, here we go my tread mill tell all.

1. What is your favorite workout on the treadmill?  Running on the treadmill is pretty boring, obviously, so I love to do interval work on the mill.  It's fun to do a 20 second sprint and see how far I can push it. And also if I'm looking for an "easy" run, the treadmill is my friend.
2. How many miles, on average, do you run on the treadmill each week?  Right now, zero.  It's not ideal timing for your treadmill to die either.  It's cold outside! Before it died I was probably doing 10-15 miles inside. 
3. What was the most mileage you've ever completed on the mill in one workout? When? Why? 5 long miles! I did it sometime during the summer, go figure, out in the garage with my husband while he was working out.  I think I just went as long as I could while I was kind of hanging out with the husband. Just for fun, I guess. 
4. Do you mill at home, the gym or both?  At home.  My dead treadmill is currently in the garage.  I used to do the treadmill at the gym and I just don't like it.  I like the people watching but then I assume someone is "people watching" me. 
5. What distractions or entertainment (if any) do you use to help pass the time? Music! Always music.  I even sing and dance a little bit.  
6. If you have a treadmill at home, what kind is it? How old is it? I have a pro-form something or other.  I bought it YEARS ago but never used it regularly until last year.  I on't even know what model it is.  I bought it because it was cheap and I didn't want to commit too much. 
7. Do you fuel any differently for a treadmill workout than an outside one?  I don't really think so.  Maybe I drink more water just because I can. 
8. Any treadmill mishaps to report? None for me but my Claire did fall off the back one day when her brother helped her turn it on.  What can I say?  They love to run just like mom. 
9. Do you mill at incline to compensate for not being outside?  I do.  I read that it's most like running outside if you run at an incline of 1-2%.  I usually set it at 2-3% for good measure. It actually feels easier for me if it's at an incline.
10. Describe your perfect (if there is such an animal) treadmill conditions: Right now the perfect conditions would just be a working treadmill.  In a perfect world though I would have a pretty little room that opened up and looked out into the yard so I could see my kids play out in the sun or close up and turn up the tunes in when it's nasty outside.  This room would also probably have to be equipped with a TV, toys and probably snacks so the kids would tolerate me being on the treadmill instead of them. 

(today's blogging spot, the plate of rocks is my "breakfast")