Running on crack...............

Aye! That's what I've been doing for about 2 months now.

I run a lot you see. I run almost every morning. Lately, not so much because I've discovered this thing called YOGA. Yeah, that is what I said. Not the "ohhhhhmm!" stuff. Not the rest-and-relaxation-meditate-till-your-brain-dead kind. Never. Not that. It's the sweaty kind. Bend-until-you-break kind. Balance-till-your-body-vibrates kind. It's awesome!

But I'm off of topic here. Well, one day while running. Something just cracked. (Figuritely and literally) My running times were waaaay too awesome and it was just getting way to easy for me. The running was just a bit "bouncier". Then it occurred to me that the tread felt about the same as it did when the first running board failed. "Not again." I thought. So after my 10 mile run, I got off. I took my shower. I got dressed. I walked into the kitchen and then stopped. Turned around and went to the now closed treadmill. I turned on the overhead light in the living room and looked. Really looked closely at the treadmill. I saw it. Oh yes. I saw the crack. But I rubbed my eyes anyway and looked again. Then stuck my hand inside, between board and rubber tread. I felt the crack. It was pretty big. "Not again." I thought. So as soon as the boys got up and ready for school and finished their breakfast and Lauren had woken and had eaten her breakfast, I called NordicTrac.

Customer service sucks. The dude thought I must have been a heifer because this was the second time I had called for the same thing in a year. No, not a heifer as my friends and family can testify too. Now if this had been 7-8 years ago...then story would have been different. Anyway, he asked my weight. I told him. I can hear by the tone of his voice he didn't believe me. "Whatever dude." I thought to myself. Then he tells me I have to pay for the new board. No, I don't. I've learned over the past 4 treadmills or so that you must buy extended warranty especially if you are me. Like I said in the second paragraph, I run a LOT! We argue a bit and then realizes he is looking at my old treadmill I used to own that was also a NordicTrac....previouslly known as "Precious". She was a good treadmill...until I ran her motor to the ground. (Okay, my friends husband finished her off! LOL!) But anyway, he realizes he is looking at the wrong serial number and he made a mistake. (Gasp!) Then he informs me that he can't help me but to call the warranty department. Okaaaaay. I call them and of course they are closed. But the next day....they were very nice once I got a hold of them and had my new board shipped that day and recieved it at the end of the week. Same day, the technician calls and we schedule the appointment for Wednesday....that just passed. Now my treadmill is fixed.

Now that I have the new board, the run is hard. My legs ache and I can barely breathe. (Could be because my sinuses are clogged. Damn spring weather!) The treadmill feels like brand new, again. So now I have to work harder to get better. The crack made the run easier. It made me faster. But in the end, it didn't help me at all. My legs are weaker and my breathing is harder. Now I have to start all over again. I have to regain the glory I once had.

So I guess the moral of this story is.....running on crack might be easy but it can mess you up in the end.