I am not a big fan of using the treadmill for running.  Even in the depths of winter, when it can be really quite cold in Pittsburgh, I would rather run outside, if at all possible. On reviewing my training log yesterday however, I noticed that a lot of my runs, after my earlier knee injury, were done on the treadmill.

This makes a lot of sense.  Running on the treadmill is much less demanding than running on asphalt and concrete, which is the surface that I typically run on outside. The lower impact environment of the treadmill, is likely much better for my knee.  With this in mind, I chose to do my 60 minute run on the treadmill this evening.

My knee was feeling much better all day, so I was hopeful that a treadmill run, as part of my rehabilitation, would go well.  I also decided to wear an elastic bandage on my knee on, as added support for my injured joint.

You can’t tell from the below average photograph above, but my run was well above average.  I felt very comfortable and I experienced almost no knee pain.  It is the best my knee has felt, since I hurt it.  Hopefully, there will not be an adverse reaction overnight, which will confirm that I am on the mend.

Interestingly, I also noticed on my run, that my average heart rate was much lower, than it has been on similar runs outside.  This is due to the fact that I was running in air conditioning and with a large fan blowing on me.  Running outside in heat and humidity is taxing on the body, and elevates heart rate.  I discovered tonight, that it elevates it quite a bit more than I thought.

Maybe I need to learn to like the treadmill a little more.  Tonight, it was certainly a good tool for me to use, and I hate to admit it, but my run was very enjoyable.