‘Team workout’ generates fun new challenge

It may be time to break out one of my favorite old hiking T-shirts for our “virtual mountain hikes” challenge.”

A couple of weeks ago I thought I couldn’t possibly handle more than 10 minutes of “mountain climbing” — walking 4 mph on a treadmill set at maximum incline (15%).

Dad and Traci on the treadmills at the Y.

At our first “team workout” at the Y this week, though, wanting to impress Dad and Traci, I attacked that mountain for a full 30 minutes. And could’ve gone longer — or maybe faster. Shows you what a difference your state of mind makes, especially on a machine.

Anyway, this got me thinking: Wouldn’t it be fun, given our family’s longtime love of hiking trails in the Great Smoky Mountains, to devise some virtual “mountain trail hikes” for the treadmill?

We could plot courses that took you at, say, a 10 percent grade for half a mile, then a 15 percent climb for a quarter mile, a relatively flat section, followed by a longer, steeper climb. We could come up with 2-3 different “trails,” name them after our real-world favorites, and then see how fast we could do them.

The problem right now is that Dad and Traci can only get into the Y once a week with their Wells Weighs In workout privileges. (And team captain Colleen, at 10, is too young to use the workout room at all.)

But Dad’s shopping around for a treadmill, so maybe we can chart some of these courses soon. When we do, I’ll post our workouts and times, and any readers who are so inclined are welcome to try them and add their times as well.