Treadmill, Dreadmill, Shredmill: it's the Same Torture Mill

But, it's becoming a very dear friend.

Right now, our part of the country looks like this.

And, therefore, me and the Mill are becoming quite close.  My last run outside was on November 20th.  Since then, I have run my four weekly runs on the treadmill.  Do I love it?  Not so much.  But I feel very fortunate to have the option of just heading down to my basement for a run because I know many people aren't as lucky to have their own treadmill.  I also know that if I had to pack it up and head to a gym I probably wouldn't make it very often, especially when the roads are like this.

Sometimes, like yesterday, it's very hard to even drag myself to the basement.  School was cancelled due to snow which ruined the plans of spending time Christmas shopping for our child.  That meant the need to get up and out early was gone.  Once I finally managed to drag myself out of bed, it was 10:30!  I know, I know.  Then I relocated my lazy self to the couch where I settled in with the computer, TV and coffee.  A true recipe for laziness, but I did have some work to get done, after all, wasn't I justified?

Well, finally I mustered some energy to change into my workout clothes and headed downstairs about 12:30.  I'm proud to say I completed 5 miles on that damn Mill.  I changed things up by plugging my iPod into the stereo so I could go without headphones.   The difference in being completely untethered during the run was awesome.  I still used Nike+, I just set my iPhone on the console and let it keep track of my distance.  It really was a small change, but it ewas enough of one to take away the hum-drums I've been feeling about the Mill.

Unfortunately, I am still having issues with my knee.  This morning when I got up I could barely walk down the stairs.  I cannot even express how discouraging that is.  I'm wondering if I should take some time off from running, but I really don't want to.  I'm actually really scared to.  Scared I'll lose momentum and motivation, and endurance.  It seems like you lose stamina so quickly.  I don't know what to do yet.  For sure I'll be postponing my weekend run until at least tomorrow and then we'll see.

Anyway, today we're decorating our house for Christmas. I absolutely love Christmas, it's my favorite time of year.  I love the festivities, the decorations, and the giving spirit in the air.  It definitely makes dealing with this a little easier!