Happy Happy Friday! It has been quite the week and I am so looking forward to catching up on things this weekend! I hope you all have lots to look forward to!
Unfortunately, my husband is working a lot of the weekend but I’ve decided that gives me more time to get work done myself and get ahed for next week. Oh, and it might help to get moving on some of the backed up laundry and house cleaning
Also, I promise I will be responding very soon to all your comments! I read every single one but have been going in 800 different directions this week. It will happen this weekend! Along with catching up on all the awesome blogs I read! To all you full time job holding bloggers out there – how do you keep up with it all!?
As you probably have noticed if you follow me on Instagram, this week has included a lot of treadmill running. I’ve gotten several questions on how I run for longer periods of time on the treadmill. It’s a hard question to answer because I know some HATE the treadmill but I am more on the fence. I don’t love it but I don’t hate it either.
Here are a few tips I have come up with for Five Things Friday for treadmill running:
Have a Plan
Some of the most difficult workouts for me are the ones where I just easy run on the treadmill. There is no real stimulus and I simply sit there and count down the miles until I hit my magic number I am aiming for that day. Music doesn’t really seem to help either because I still have nothing to look at but the minutes and miles.
I find the best treadmill runs are the ones where I switch things up. Obviously, when I do a workout that makes the time go by much quicker. Even if I am doing an easy run, alternating things such as pacing or incline slightly off and on will help the time pass quicker. It doesn’t seem quite as bad when you are focusing on something else.
Try a Workout
Some of my favorite treadmill runs are either workouts or tempo runs. They help to switch it up and you will be amazed how accomplished you feel after getting off of it!
Thursday morning I woke up and had a 7 mile tempo run. I’m on a time crunch in the mornings so I got right into it when I got on the treadmill. I did a 1/2 mile progression warm up, 7 miles at an 8:00 min pace (goal marathon pace) and 1/2 mile cool down. I was supposed to do an extra mile for the warm up and cool down but didn’t have time. Not too big of a deal.
This run actually went really well. I was able to keep my body relaxed the entire time which is so important for me.
Ha! Here is a wonderful after picture. Even though the run went well it still was hard and I was tired at the end. That could have also been due to the fact that I got up at 4:30 AM.
The great thing about workouts or tempos on a treadmill is that they go by quickly! They also help you to start feeling the pace, though it will never be exactly the same as running outdoors.
Break it Into Segments
This was one of the first tricks that I learned when I started having to run more on the treadmill while living in Pennsylvania. I think I have mentioned it before on the blog, but whenever I am running in order to make sure I am getting enough fluids and to give me something to focus on I drink every 6 minutes.
I break the run up into 6 minutes at a time and it helps the time to pass quicker. You could do this in many different ways.
Watch a TV Show of Movie
Sometimes if I am sick of listening to music I will hook up my iPad and watch a TV show or movie while I am running. The great thing about this is that it gets my mind off how far I have to go.
I will often play games with myself and will tell myself to run until the first commercial or a break in the movie and then check how far I’ve gone. You will be amazed at how quickly the time passes when you aren’t look at the little screen.
Just Do It
Honestly, sometimes the only way that I can get through a treadmill run is just to get on there and do it. Don’t overthink, don’t be negative about it, just simply get it done. You always feel better after and sometimes treadmill runs just suck as some runs outdoors can.
It’s not always the most fun, or the easiest but I always tell myself at least it is running! I will take running on a treadmill every single day over not running at all.
There you have it. Nothing fancy but it gets me through some of those though treadmill runs.
Finally, I will leave you with this precious picture.
Piper has gotten into the habit of getting in the tub after I get out to the shower and just sitting there staring at the faucet for 30+ minutes. It’s so funny!
What is the longest run you have ever done on a treadmill? I once ran an 18 mile long run on the treadmill during marathon training. Not something I want to repeat often, but boy does it work on your mental toughness!
Do you run on a treadmill often?
18 miles on the treadmill is insane (and inspiring — now i have no excuse)! great tip to vary pace. i find that the treadmill experience fades into the background when breathing becomes a concerted effort…
Thanks for the tips! I have trouble with transferring the pace on a treadmill to the street. I trust the readout, but it always feels like a faster cadence to me. I do get very bored too. Last night it was 100+ and I had to delay my run until 8:00pm. I considered going to the gym and doing the 7 mile tempo on a treadmill in the A/C, but I chose the heat. My longest treadmill run was 11 miles last winter when we got hit with an ice storm. I did it, but I haven’t run on the treadmill since 🙂
-Run with joy!
I really don’t like the treadmill, but awhile back I ran on it all the time. I think the most I did was 12 miles. Never again!;) And blogging with a full time job is really tough. Some days I just don’t get to put the time into it that I would like, but I also try to use the weekends to catch up on stuff.
Thanks for the tips! I am not a huge fan of the treadmill, but I will mix it in sometimes. It’s good for interval workouts. Happy Weekend!
You did 18 miles on a treadmill? Good lord! I think the most I’ve done is 13 (with a five minute bathroom break in between hours.) I like running on the ‘mill because I can play around with the speeds/intervals. I also get a fair amount of magazines read when I’m on the treadmill (I used to read books, but I didn’t want to sweat like a mad woman all over the books that I would return to the library!)
Sometimes it’s also nice NOT to have a plan on the treadmill. I use the TM all the time in the winter and sometimes it’s easier mentally just to get on and go and fiddle around with the buttons as I go and play it by ear. Mentally not as daunting. I have done up to 22 on a treadmill, oh the things we do in winter for marathon training. I don’t mind it in the winter when its THAT cold and snowy, but summer/spring/fall I have a harder time getting on the machine. If it’s remotely nice, Ill go out and even then I have had my fair share of crappy weather runs.
I’ve started moving my interval runs on the treadmill to Tuesday nights so I can watch Extreme Weightloss while I run. If I’m focused on a show it goes by sooooo much faster. It’s amazing how that works!
Treadmill running blows! The max I can stand is about an hour.
The longest I’ve gone on a treadmill is 10 miles. I trained for my first half marathon solely on the treadmill, which was awful. But, that’s what happens when you sign up for a February race and hate the cold!
I don’t run on the treadmill often right now, but I’ll run almost exclusively on one when winter comes.