Do Treadmill Miles Count?

In the "golden age" of my running career (hee hee hee), they didn't count at all.  So my lifetime totals are a little short because of that.  Add that to the numerous 15 milers that were really 18 miles, the 10 milers that were really 12, and I have nearly 74,000 total lifetime miles.

Even when I finally got a treadmill of my own in the early 90's, I was really ashamed that I was counting them.  But when I finally got that first kid, all that shame finally eroded.  Today, almost all of my miles are done on my treadmill.  I do realize that the purists out there (I used to be one of them) are shaking their heads with condemnation.  Oh, well...

I just had my 14 year-old treadmill serviced.  I have more than 14,000 miles on the beast in that time frame. It needed a new belt and the lubricant nozzle was somehow missing.  I figured there would be much more wrong with it, but everything else checked out fine.  I have a LifeFitness 9500 HR.  Anyone who ever has run on a treadmill at a club or hotel probably is familiar with this machine.  Really a durable and excellent model.  The only strike would be that it only goes to 12 mph and 15% incline.  (As if I ever have half a chance to run that fast ever again for even 100 yards! And forget uphill entirely.)

The technician servicing my beloved treadmill was great.  Apparently, he is known as a treadmill whisperer or something and has been doing it for quite awhile.  I recently visited his store and am amazed at the newer models of treadmills out there.  And the elliptical machine I will be obligated to one day switch to are quite fine also. They are smaller, less expensive and yet can take even the monumental pounding of a hobby-jogger (albiet a religious, every-day hobby-jogger) like me.

So anyone out there in Central PA with a home exercise machine, I give my full endorsement and confidence in Penn Fitness Warehouse and the head technician, Vitu Chiwaka.

And back to my original question, Do you count treadmill miles?