Now that the Chicago Marathon is a memory rather than a looming reality, I’ve been able to take a step back and think about how my training and recovery differed this time around from the other two Chicago Marathons I’ve run. Although this marathon wasn’t my fastest, (thanks rain!) it was the one I recovered from the fastest. Two days later I was back at the gym hopping on a spin bike. While I did a number of things differently for the 2018 Chicago Marathon, one major difference was having a home treadmill.

Thanks to Johnson Fitness & Wellness, this past Spring I brought home the Matrix TF30 with the XER console. (Read all about how I picked this model and what the set-up was like in this post.)

From March on, it was easier to assure I got in my prescribed runs. It’s amazing how much time you save when you don’t have to travel to the gym and back to get in your run! The saved time allowed me to get in more runs. With a treadmill at home I didn’t need to plan for 30 minutes of commute time. I just needed to walk from the second floor to the first.

The Matrix TF30 also allowed me the chance to work on my sprints more than any other training year. With the Sprint 8 program that comes already programmed on the treadmill, I often found myself squeezing in one of these intense 20-minute workouts when I didn’t have time for a long run or I needed to give my legs something different the day after a long run. And honestly, if you want a 20-minute workout that is intense and sweat-inducing - this is it!! It felt like I sweat more during these ‘runs’ than I did on my 13-miler.

Using the Sprint 8 system was also a really good way to track my own fitness level. When I first started using the system I was doing one of the lowest advanced levels with inclines around 5.0 and speeds up to 8.2mph. By the time the marathon rolled around, I was doing the mid-range advanced workouts with speeds up to 9.0mph.

The incline capabilities also helped me prepare for the marathon. While the Midwest, and Chicago’s course is mostly flat, hill training helps your legs prepare for anything. It uses different muscles and trains you both mentally and physically for a grueling 26.2 miles. I did several workouts adjusting the incline as I ran a steady pace in order to be better prepared for the road ahead.

And, having a treadmill at home also meant that I could workout at any time of the day or night. I wasn’t bound by the sun or the hours at my gym. I took advantage of that fact and did several runs at 4:30 in the morning - long before the sun was up and my gym opened its doors.

Interested in reading the other posts about the Matrix TF30? Check these out:

• 3 Marathon Training Runs for a Treadmill
• Marathon Training Just Got Serious
• Picking a Treadmill and the Set-Up Process

This is a sponsored post. I was provided a treadmill in order to share my honest opinion. All thoughts are my own.