The Treadmill that Almost Ate My Motivation
This has not been my best week of running. I took 5 days off to let a strained hamstring recover a little. Then, after having a relatively mild summer, we all of a sudden hit the triple digits. Thise of you who live in places with normal weather might be thinking, “So it’s hot during the day, just run at night.” But in Texas . . . at least in the DFW area . . . when we get hot we STAY hot. Last night, for example, I am driving home from work at 9:00pm, and the weather on the radio tells me it is 97 degrees! Yes, 97 degrees at 9:00 in the evening. By 6:00 in the morning we will be in the low 80s, but the heat index will be pushing close to 90. There is just no escaping it.
That’s why, after a hot morning run on Monday, I convinced myself I would get a better workout on Tuesday if I just went to the gym and ran on the treadmill . WHAT WAS I THINKING?! (Have I mentioned how much I detest treadmills?)
All afternoon on Tuesday, I kept dreading the treadmill. The more I thought about that crazy, boring, treadmill the more my motivation was eaten away. Then all the crazy self-talk and excuse-making started. I was talking myself out of running on THAT treadmill. After texting with my hubby, who cheered me on with his Forrest Gump-like text, “Run, Babe, Run,” I made my way to the gym with new, but very little, resolve. I trudged across the hot parking lot chanting, “Just 30 minutes. I just need to run 30 minutes.”
After changing, I headed to the exercise machine room, trying to decide which treadmill would torture me. That’s when I realized that when it is 105 degrees outside, they can only make the gym so cool. It was hot and stuffy in that room full of machines I don’t like anyway and it was all I could do to stand there. That crazy treadmill was staring at me . . . taunting me . . . gobbling up my motivation. Then I remembered what my friend, Michelle Myers, had said once. If I don’t feel like exercising I do 5 minutes, and if I am still struggling, I just take it as a message that my body needs a break today. That was my out! I would do just 5 minutes and if I just wasn’t feeling it, I was going to call it a day.
I finished the first 5 minutes, and decided to try another 5 . . . which turned into another 5 . . . soon I was at the 20 minute mark. When I hit 30 minutes, I realized I was 1/2 a mile from completing a 5K distance. At that point, why not go for it?
If you find yourself forced onto a treadmill when you wish you were running outside, here are my tips, that work for me:
- Have an accountability partner who can cheer you on when you want to push the STOP button. Texting my hubby and having him return the text encouraging me to keep going was just what I needed.
- When running on a treadmill, increase the incline to .5 or 1.0. The slight incline helps mimic the resistance that you naturally feel when running on the road.
- Discover what you need to see, or not see, to keep you from getting bored. Some people have to watch television. Others have to cover the timer and mileage counter so they don’t stare at it. For me, I have to be by the window so that I can see outside where the scenery is constantly changing.
That treadmill, and the heat, almost ate my motivation to keep my running schedule, but I grabbed it back before it got the best of me! Now, can I go back outside?
Runs This Week
Monday 2.36 mi 12’22″/mi 29:15 84 degrees and hot
Tuesday 3.19 mi 11’41″/mi 37:16 On the treadmill
Thursday 3.10mi 12’16″/mi 38:05 82 degrees
