Treadmill Training

Some runners may think it's just not right to do the majority of one's running on a treadmill. According to the December 2006 issue of Runner's World Magazine in the American Runner 2006 Survey, only 5% of runners run primarily on a treadmill.

There are several reasons I train on my treadmill.

My knees are much happier when they aren't being pounded on the asphalt or concrete

I live in a neighborhood without street lights or sidewalks and once upon a time I was sure I was going to be kidnapped - it turned out to be the newspaper man...

I live on Lake Harris. Lake Harris is nearly 14,000 acres with an estimated 3,500 aligators living there, in my front yard!

When we moved to Tavares, it was aligator mating season. When I went outside early in the morning, I could hear the gators craoking in search of some love. It scared me just a little.

Last September Darrell was cleaning some of the weeds along the shoreline and decided to take a break. As he sat on the dock he realized that just two feet away from where he was working, a gator was laying in wait.

We called the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Nuisance Alligator Hotline (it really exists) and a state certified trapper was dispacthed to take the bad boy away.

I feel much safer in my controlled environment. But this morning, there was a new wrinkle in my training plan. after .65 miles a groggy five year old appeared before me and she was not happy. "You woke me up!" she said, scowling.

What could I do? It was just after 5:30 AM - way too early for her to be awake. I had no other choice than to stop and put her back to bed. Darrell has mentioned that I have been waking him up as well.

Could it be the increased speed that is making more noise? We all know it can't be the incline.

I am going to try again tomorrow morning. I hope they can sleep through it. If not, then what? Yikes!