Friday, 7/19/13, part 1: Dr. Strangerun, *OR* How I Learned to Stop Sweating it and Hate the Treadmill.

Sometimes, running in the summer sucks.

Afternoon runs are next to impossible, because of heat and humidity.  Night runs are sometimes do-able, but most of the time they're just as hot as the afternoons (especially if you live in a city; concrete holds heat like a brick oven).  For this runner, morning runs are, most of the time, my only option.  

What happens if the sun beats me to the punch, but I'm desperate to get my daily run in? I'm forced to resort to.... 

The treadmill.  

<Dun dun DUUUUNNN> 

You can always tell stock photos of people on treadmills from real pictures of people on treadmills.  No one has ever, EVER, looked that happy while on a treadmill. 

I hate the treadmill.  First of all, I have ADD, and staying in the same place for a long period of time irritates me.  Especially if I have to keep looking in the same direction.  Second, I can't stand the stagnant air that seems to surround a treadmill.  Running outside creates a breeze which helps sweat evaporate, cooling the body. On a treadmill I feel like I'm stewing in my own heat, like a side of roast beef in the oven.  

But the worst is my body's ability to rationalize quitting, because I'm always less than a foot away from where I started.  If I'm running outdoors, I have things to look at to keep my mind occupied. And when I decide to quit, I HAVE to keep running to make it home.  On a treadmill, my brain assails me with a constant barrage of laziness, like, "That's far enough. You should stop now. Isn't your knee a little sore?  Maybe you should call it a day."  

That said, here are my treadmill results from earlier in the week.  

Time:  39:25 

Distance: 4.00 miles 

Pace:  9:51 min/mile 

Incline set at 1.5 to offset the lack of wind resistance 

Now this seems better than it actually was.  I stopped after the first two miles and took a water break, and then did the remaining two miles. 

So yeah, treadmills suck.  But I guess sometimes they're necessary, because of the summer heat.  But, whenever possible, I'm dragging my butt out of bed to get outdoors.

Got any tips, motivational tricks, or other advice that might make me like the treadmill more?  Please share!  I know I'm going to have to use them more often this winter, but I'm still sort of in denial.