Saturday, January 25, 2014

Running to positive distraction

 
Today's run (treadmill): 5.1 miles

My hardcore running buddy SIOR was planning a long run today along the Bethpage bike trail. After so many treadmill runs over the past couple of weeks, I really wanted to get out and join her (and possibly the Petite Pacer) for a few miles. Once it became clear that the trail conditions were icy and snowy, I became concerned about slipping. Despite suggestions that included putting Slinkys and Brillo pads on my running shoes, I ended up chickening out.

If Bethpage wasn't going to be an option, I knew my opportunity for an outside run would be low. I finally accepted my fate and prepared for five miles of fun on the treadmill. And when I say fun, I mean horrible boredom. I managed to find a bunch of distractions before I finally acquiesced to the will of the Sole F63.

As it turned out, my run wasn't as tedious as I'd feared. Early on, I switched to the uppermost cable channels (Music Choice) that play music without commercials. This was great because I could listen without needing to wear headphones. I also liked that I could switch back and forth between genres. The only negative is that the names of the artists and songs are displayed in very small text and it was hard to read that from across the room.

I maintained a pace that provided a challenging but sustainable perceived effort. I noted that my heart rate's rose from 73% of max to 88% throughout the span of my run. I'm used to stopping my treadmill runs after 3 to 3.5 miles (due mostly to boredom) so going past 5 today was a testament to good distractions. I don't think conditions will change enough to get outside on Sunday, so I guess I'll do this again tomorrow.

2 comments:

  1. Hmmm, I guess my comment didn't go through. It was actually the Petite Pacer's idea to run Bethpage. I wimped out from lack of sleep and wimpiness. Speaking of badassery, this dude on the RW forum runs in -45 degrees in Canada. Ridiculous. 9 degrees is like spring to those kooky Canadians.

    When you're doing those longer runs on the treadmill, why not try that app that was reviewed by She Is Out Running? It helped pass the time, while simultaneously gave her a good speed workout (at least, that what she said). Supposedly.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. That's a good idea. I'm a big fan of She Is Out Running's reviews. I need to figure out how to do that without needing to use earphones or headphones. The treadmill has speakers that work with an iPod/mp3 player, but it's hard to get enough volume to hear over the motor when I'm running interval speeds.

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