That'll leave a mark.

"I'm in ok shape," I thought. "I can run for a long time. I can do anything." You know that that mindset is pretty much the beginning of the end. So, I took Ragsy swimming Saturday and went to work out this afternoon on my own at the gym, planning to get in at least 45 minutes to a half hour of running plus something else. I've been running a lot on our treadmill at home and I really need some variety and something to truly challenge my muscles.

So I got on the treadmill. Every treadmill is different. This one is a bit easier than mine, so I was able to run for about 20 minutes as a warm up without really breathing hard, even though I was running faster and at a much higher incline than usual. That didn't stop me from feeling slightly full of myself, though. Then my bloated self esteem took a much-needed hit. Oh, and I got what I came for. I tried the Adaptive Motion Trainer. I'd never heard of it and assumed it'd be just like an eliptical. I also ignored the fact that only one was being used and the person using was pouring sweat.

I hopped on, noting that, "Hmm, the pedals are a little heavier and harder to move than most elipticals." So I stood on the machine. The pedals still didn't move. So I pressed down. Hard. Finally. Movement. "Well, I guess it'll just take a few strides, then it'll ease up." I started to move. It wasn't getting any easier. I set the timer. "Umm, this is harder than I expected. But I can do at least 20 minutes. Well, how about I set it to 15 and add on if I want to?" Even though I had the resistance down as low as possible, I was only able to complete 10 minutes, which was a stretch because I was seriously considering getting off after 5. Typically, my heart rate doesn't rise above 130, even while running, unless I'm going faster than usual (which is admittedly probably a regular or even somewhat slow pace for many) or at a fairly punishing incline (I'm proud to say that now I can do inclines. Go me!). On a standard elliptical, it'll get up to maybe 140 or so. By the time I was done on this machine, also referred to as an AMT, it was 167.

Apparently this machine is supposed to combine an ellilptical with running and stair climbing, hence the extremely heavy pedals. Plus, the stride dial was set to "deep lunge," which means that you're doing a very deep step over and over and over again. This machine kicked my butt. My but and hips are tender. My thighs are already getting stiff. My lungs feel slightly constricted, like they used to when I was starting to run for the first time. Running tomorrow is going to be tough, especially since I promised myself I'd do intervals. But you know what? It was hard. I liked it. I want to do it again.