Treadmill high?

So I am not sure if you know this or not but I hate HATE treadmills. I am a Maine girl and because of it weather just doesn't phase me.  I have literally run in every type of weather that is thrown at us,
blizzards, hurricanes, rain, shine, humidity, Arctic cold and even a lightening storm a time or two (on my way home, I did NOT set out in lightening), but due to the amount of snow in the short time span that it has been snowing this winter the roads are really unsafe to run on.  The banks are too high to jump in case I need to dive out of the way of any vehicle not to mention that not only has the shoulder of the road disappeared so has most of the travel lanes, making the road barely passable for two cars at the same time.  Let alone two cars and a runner.  So, I gave in, sucked it up, put on my big girl panties and joined a gym to become acquainted with "The Treadmill" (dum dum daaaaa...).

Until today the most I had ever done on "The Treadmill" was 4 miles.  It was torture.  Actually, even
the 3 milers have been torture.  I get on and immediately am bored, and just do NOT want to be on it. I play games, mental games where I can't look at the distance until I see the TV switch to a commercial, or I mess with the pace, increasing it every 1/10 of a mile until I am full out sprinting (7 min mile for me) then hold the sprint until I want to die and go all the way back down and start over again.

It was one of those days today.  I remembered ear phones and I had my sister next to me.  Nothing good and distracting though was on and I was MISERABLE.  I kept making promises to myself about just getting it done.  Then around mile 4 I realized I was going into uncharted mill territory for myself and I got a little excited (you know you are a runner when you get excited realizing you are pushing limits).  I was playing the pacing game and I was holding down a pretty good pace.  I was thinking of you know what I may finish 6 in under an hour if you can just manage to not throw up just yet.  Then it hit me.  Into my brain flashed what I had been reading from lots of other mill runners.  "The Treadmill" shuts off after an hour.  What?! No it just couldn't be true.  As the minutes ticked by I was giddy, I was about to see if it was indeed true and then join the ranks of other runners who run long enough on the mill to have them shut themselves down!!! I knew I would hit 6 before an hour BUT I had to keep going I HAD to find out.  Sure enough, at 58 minutes it wouldn't let me increase my speed anymore and at the hour mark IT happened.  The machine slowed right down and forced me into cool down mode.

It was so totally COOL!!! I mean wicked cool.  How much of a badass was I?  I just ran until the machine shut OFF.  I outlasted that damn thing and I was still standing!!! I am a BAMR and there is no denying it now.  I was on an INSTANT runner's high.  Not the kind that happens when you are out in the fresh air, with the sun on your back (or in my case a soft rain on my face), or the gentle breeze blowing across you.  Not the kind you get when you just take in all of the beauty around you and sink into an easy pace as the scenes unfold and you just go whatever route your heart takes you.  Oh no,

this runner's high was all gym sweat and machines, TV and people watching,  This high wasn't all about the run in so much as I out lasted a damn machine! Me, the one who is just a mediocre runner.  I don't look like a runner and I am pretty sure all of them watching me thought that at least once while we were all hamsters going round and round. I do not have experience in training like I am training or going as far as I am going but I OUTLASTED the damn machine AND turned it back on for more.  I was so caught up in floating on this stale sweat smell high that I paid no attention to where I went after I wiped down the machine,  Ending up in the men's locker room.  Only realizing it when I opened locker 24 (SCORED my favorite number for a locker today!!!!) and nothing was there except the smell of Old Spice....

I was so high from running on "The Treadmill" that I was oblivious to anyting else.  Now that is what I would call a successful training run!