So I woke up Sunday morning with the intention of putting in 19 miles outside as part of my 2 hard back to back weeks as part of training for the Goofy Challenge 2014. When I looked out the window though I found that between 0.5 to 1 inch of snow had fallen overnight. This came as a surprise since the forecast was for flurries only.
I weighed my options and it still made sense to do the run outside (especially since we had company over that were sleeping 10 feet from the treadmill). So I put on my winter gear and threw on an extra sweater just in case (since I run 4.5 mile laps I figured I could get rid of it if I needed to) and headed out. It quickly became apparent that my base layer / warm leg gear is not long enough in the leg. I had about 2 inches of exposed skin that was enjoying a fair bit of attention from the snow. After I finished one lap I could tell my socks were soaked and my calves were freezing – continuing another 2 hours + like that was not a healthy option so I headed in to finish my run on the treadmill.
Our company was up and about when I got in so I was able to get on the treadmill quickly after I shed a few layers of clothes and put on some dry socks. After about 8 miles though the breaker on the treadmill tripped and as I went to go reset it I could smell some electronics burning. Crap.
I popped open the cowling over the motor housing and although I could tell the smell was worse in the motor compartment I couldn’t see where the issue was at first glance. So I did a quick cleaning of the compartment and did a quick lube of the deck to make sure that wasn’t the problem then turned the treadmill back on to check it out it. As soon as I triggered it to start moving the belt I saw a major spark from the motor control board and the motor stopped moving. After that I was able to tell where the issue was on the board and it is toast. Bit crappy since the thing is less than a year old. (read about my Christmas eve new treadmill buying adventures from last winter).
Now the treadmill should still be on warranty so I should be able to get it fixed but unfortunately I still haven’t got a response from the online since of the store I bought it from. If I don’t hear from them tomorrow I am going to have to go talk to them in person.
There are several downsides to this misadventure though:
- I was ready to push on this run to get the miles in – I was looking forward to seeing what I could do
- This is the first weekend since August 25th (and only the second since August 4th) that I haven’t run at least a half marathon distance run during the weekend
- Only the second run since September 3rd that I had to shorten or miss and the other was due to illness.
- The wife didn’t get to put in her treadmill time that she wanted for her training. At least she is able to go to her Mother’s and use her treadmill – I can’t due to the lower ceilings there (concussion in every step!)
Hopefully I can get this sorted soon! Basically since I finished my 3 half marathon races in 7 weeks stint I haven’t been focusing on speed work too much as I try to get more mileage in instead. With that focus change though I’m not getting any faster and considering I was steadily getting faster a few weeks back, staying steady feels like I am going backwards. I had recognized this and intended to ensure I was pushing harder on the treadmill during the week – but instead I am going to have to do my runs outside and in the snow speed work would be a quick path to injury.
If I can’t get the treadmill rolling soon, I may have to join a local gym for a month to do some speed work which will be much less convenient than hopping on the treadmill as soon as the kids are in bed.
Darned Winnipeg weather!
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