On my tennis off days, I love to wake up to an early morning run through Houston’s beautiful Memorial Park. It’s so peaceful at that time of day. The park is so incredibly beautiful, you forget you’re in downtown Houston. Just last week I saw a mama deer with her baby, cautiously watching as I jogged by, trying not to scare them away.
But the weather was perfect then.
When the Weather Sucks
As of this week, the days start in the upper 70’s with 90% humidity, which literally makes you feel like you’re drowning on land. It’s just awful. But I’m not giving up my morning run, just the location.
I’ve got a treadmill that I’ve had for more than 10 years, and it’s my indoor park trail whenever the weather sucks.
I’m not a huge fan of the treadmill, as I tend to get bored after a few minutes. Where’s the smell of fresh dew on the ground? Where are the cute deer and lil’ bunnies? Why am I running but not going anywhere? You get my drift.
A typical treadmill workout for me consists of a 5 minute warm up, running for 30 – 45 minutes, and then a 10 minute cool down. And in an effort to mix things up and not get bored, I put together this 30 minute treadmill interval workout which I LOVE. Interval training is where it’s at, baby! And I also bought a little color TV so I can watch the morning news 🙂
Not only am I not bored, but I burn more calories in a shorter amount of time than if I was jogging on the flat trail. This workout burns over 350 calories for me in just 30 minutes, and I go to work feeling alive and ready to take on the world!
If you’re a faster runner, go ahead and increase the speed. However, if you want to take it a little easier, decrease the speed or the inclines. If you don’t have a TV, grab your ipad and pull up the Tennis Life Workout Playlists. Believe it or not, the beat really helps you power through your treadmill workout. No matter how you do it, the 30 minutes will fly by. Before you know it, you would have a squeezed in a great run.
The Treadmill Workout
C’mon and say it with me: “Treadmills are our friends” 🙂
It rains often here in Meridian, MS so I’m alway on my treadmill, but it still isn’t my friend, lol! Maybe if I got a TV for it 🙂