Have treadmill, will travel

Santa bought us a treadmill for Christmas and it was finally delivered this week.  I have been avoiding the annual rush at the gym, so I was really pleased to be able to just go downstairs to workout in the mornings before work.  It makes getting up to exercise SO much easier, what with the two-floor commute.  I have come to prefer morning workouts, since evenings are always hectic and tiresome.  I never thought I would say that, but I guess that's what three months of 5:30AM bootcamp will do to a person.

Aside from being super convenient, I absolutely love the iFit Live feature that came with the machine.  I didn't think we needed this at all, but most of the treadmills we looked at came with a free year's subscription to the program.  Considering I had no interest in this feature and assumed I would never use it, now I am completely hooked.

My favorite part about it is the Google Maps integration.  We can program a route anywhere in the world and it will sync right to the machine.  When you start the workout, the incline automatically adjusts to match the terrain from your chosen course.  I don't have the extreme dislike of treadmill workouts like some people do, but it adds a really fun element to what is admittedly a pitfall for monotony.

I immediately saved the course of the annual 5-mile St Patty's run in downtown St Louis that I am doing this March, so I am really excited to replicate the course without worrying about the outside elements between now and then.  I am a complete baby when it comes to running in the cold, so this feels like a win-win to me.

There are several pre-programmed options to download, but Kenny and I have been having a really fun time making our own.  I am a total nerd, but I think it's really cool that I can run through Versailles or Central Park, along the beach from our honeymoon destination or the California Coastal Highway, or take on (the super scary) Lombard Street in San Fran by way of my basement.  You can run races or complete challenges against other iFit members, and it also provides training schedules for 5ks through half marathons.  Kenny has the goal of completing a Golden Gate challenge by the end of the year ... it looks like 12 miles of torture to me, but I'll still cheer him on.

I think a lot of people are motivated by gadgets and toys when it comes to exercise, and apparently I am no exception.  Be it a heart rate monitor, a mileage app for my phone, or a Google street view of Paris on my treadmill, I get excited to get moving.  Whatever works, as far as I am concerned. 

Where would you run if you could run anywhere?  What gadgets get you excited for a workout?