The Running Man - Home Edition

My Christmas present from my wife last month was a treadmill. We've spent the last couple of weeks researching, and settled on a PaceMaster Gold. The actual purchase was Thursday, but we had to rent a truck today, deciding to bring it home and set it up ourselves rather than pay the fitness warehouse three figures to do that for us. We were reassured that it was an easy set up - a few screws here, clip something there, and it's done.

What they didn't tell us, however, was that the base of the treadmill weighs slightly less than the space shuttle. That posed some problems getting it in the house, but we eventually did it. In the process, I managed to put my left thumb through an industrial stapler unpacking the box ... that was fun. I'll be fine once the gangrene clears up.

Nonetheless, it's all set up in our basement, and for that I'm glad. While I have a gym membership (and I can use a fitness room at work that has some weights and cardio equipment), I've decided that I'm going to use the gym for weight training three times a week (which I hate to do, but I know I have to do it) and then I can run at home in the afternoons or evenings on my own time on my non-weight training days.

The renewed emphasis on weight training has nothing to do with looking buff per se, and everything to do with boosting my metabolism, which is slow at the best of times, and is getting slower with age. As much as I enjoy running, it's not enough to keep me from gaining weight - at least not the 10 to 12 miles a week I had been running of late. Seriously - I was running a minimum of 10 miles per week and I was still gaining weight, despite watching my diet closely.

So, back to weight training I've gone, and in one week, it's already paid dividends and put me back below 180 lbs for the first time in about three months.