Our New-to-Us Treadmill

our new treadmill

We bought our first treadmill on craigslist for $50 four or five years ago. We were the 3rd or 4th owners, but it worked.

Mostly.

Except it developed the bad habit of randomly shutting off while I was walking or running. I'd come to a complete and abrupt stop and lose the time and distance info for that workout. I'd also have to wait about 10 minutes or so before the circuit could be flipped back on so I could get back to my workout.

Sometimes this would happen multiple times during a workout, sometimes months would go by without it occurring. There was no rhyme or reason we could see to the shut-offs.

A couple weeks ago it happened again and it was the last straw. While I waited for the circuit to re-set itself, I hopped on craigslist to see if I could find a new treadmill.

The stars aligned and I found another treadmill listed for $50, and it was in much better condition than our old one. The timing really worked out well since Mr M was still on vacation so he was able to help get the treadmill. Treadmills are heavy and unwieldy, so that was a huge plus.

The treadmill hasn't actually been used much because the older lady who owned it has had too many  injuries to her legs and was told not to use it any more. She's also moving, so she decided it was a good time to get rid of it. Her loss, our gain.

It's taken a few workouts to figure out the console display, but the treadmill is leaps and bounds above what we had before. My only real quibble with it is that the digital display isn't lighted, and I'm short enough that the angle of the display is a little too high for me to comfortably see.

The belt is a little narrower and shorter than our old treadmill, and my makeshift laptop table further decreases the amount of space I can use on the belt. It's really only an issue when I'm running, so I have to be more cognizant of where I am on the treadmill. Being more aware of where I am isn't a bad thing :)

This treadmill is also much quieter than the old one: it's actually possible to hear a show on my laptop without earbuds in.

It's so nice to have a treadmill that works again!