
(the pic is actual treadmill involved in this story)
I got a treadmill technology beat down today, and it was not pretty. Now, I consider myself an OK-smart person, one who is embracing of new technology and very math/science/numbers oriented. My highest grade in college was in my Calc III class and I was even a software engineer for a few years. So usually I can figure out how to make electronic things work.
But not today.
At lunch today I ventured to the YMCA for an easy 30 minute run on the treadmill. Ugh. But I was ready, iPod in hand and my new running visor to keep my focus straight (wearing a hat while running inside helps me be less distracted by pretty things in my side vision). As I walk towards the row of treadmills I notice a lack of obnoxious TV screens attached to the machines..yes. I hate staring at a blank TV one foot from my face. I find my treadmill but as I approach, I found out it was too good to be true...these treadmills have TV embedded in the front of them. And I notice they have gross sticky finger prints all over the screens (as in, sticky with Swine Flu germs, people sweat, and probably some snot too).
So I figure out how to turn on the treadmill. I play with the TV and nothing happens. It's a touch screen. I stand there poke...poke...poke...nothing. The menu will not engage. So frustrating. I had to ask the maintenance person, he comes right over, presses the 'button' and the menu comes up. Oh, it's Press not Poke. Ick, that means more time my fingertip has to spend on the germy screen.
So I press. And the TV gets stuck on "A Baby Story" on TLC. Really? The LAST thing I want to watch while I'm hammering hard on a treadmill. So I press some more. It gets stuck on a Soap Opera. I don't even know why I tried....eventually I figured out how to turn off the TV. Thank goodness. At this point it's still at 3 mph walking pace. Time to figure out how to run. I press the big speed-me-up handle and it jumps to 7.5 mph. Ha! Not for 30 minutes. I press again, 5.5. Not going to work. So I decided to try to use the touch screen again to do it 0.1 by 0.1 until I finally reach my desired 6.4 mph speed.
Ugh. In all this playing around, I manage to turn on the "time and miles" section. I spent 7:25 walking and trying to figure out how to use that silly silly treadmill. All I want to do it get on, get my speed, and stare at the blank yellow wall in front of my face. I don't want to watch TV...even if I wanted to I would be motion sick. Do people really run on those things and watch TV at the same time? Without falling off? I'd like to see that.
At one point I stood on the rails to switch my music. I knew to finish the last 5 minutes I would need a great motivating song. In the time it took me to find my other song, I see a message on the screen that says "no person detected" and SHUT OFF! It just plain 'ol turned off and stopped. Seething with frustration, by this time I'm an expert at controlling the speed so I just re-start the workout and go for those last 5 minutes. After 5 minutes was done, I pressed that big red "emergency shut-off" button. At least that's one thing that doesn't ever change.
It took me 40 minutes to run 30 minutes and I left that Y feeling a little stupider than when I arrived. Tomorrow I'm running outside, no questions asked.





