May 7, 2011

Dreadmill Distraction

What I see when I look at a treadmill.
Living in New Orleans, I don't have to use the treadmill often.  When I do, it's typically not during the winter unlike most of the country.  And being an adamant hater of the dreadmill, I only resort to it under dire circumstances:

1.  Thunderstorms (I don't wanna die)
2.  Heat index >110°F/43°C (Still don't wanna die)
3.  


Yeah.  That's about it.  And #2 I can be flexible on.  The only other circumstance is MAYBE if I'm really in a time crunch and can't get a run in otherwise.

I've run in downpours, sweltering temperatures, snow storms (when visiting Cleveland)... anything to avoid feeling like a hamster on a wheel.

My brain on a treadmill
When I do get on a treadmill, my battle is to avoid the constant urge to quit.  The whole run I find myself staring at the "stop" button.  It's like there's a magnetic force pulling my attention to STOP.  I've tried music.  I've tried TV. I do best when I'm rocking to music and watching TV with closed caption.  It's the best I can do to max my brain out on distraction.  Unfortunately, it's hard to find TVs with CC which loses my attention rapidly.

TV distraction of choice at the gym:

  • News:  Yes, the Daily Show counts.  I'm a dork and enjoy watching the news.  Plus, they often have those scrolly things at the bottom so I can read if there's no closed caption.
  • Soccer:  I grew up playing soccer, so that's part of it.  The only part is... have you seen soccer players!?!?  Talk about distraction.  (And have I mentioned that Seattle has a MLS soccer team?  Talk about making it hard to focus at a new job!)

Thank you, Vanity Fair, for this lovely distraction.  Maybe I should post this over the stop button.
Might kill my desire to finish early...


What are your thoughts about the treadmill?  Necessary evil or just evil?  What kind of distractions do you use?
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5 comments:

  1. CharMay 7, 2011 at 4:27 PM

    Nice pic.

    I've never run on a treadmill apart from an exercise stress test and the whole event freaked me out. I couldn't run at a consistent even pace and was sure I would be spat out the back. I take my hat off to anyone who can tame the mill.

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  2. LisaMay 7, 2011 at 5:44 PM

    I'm like you on a treadmill - total distraction to the MAX needed. I too listen to music while watching tv and hopefully a LOT of people to watch (though, I might be a soccer fan from now on :) I once heard from a really good runner that she puts in a DVD (or now with technology you could download a movie to a laptop) and watches an entire movie - I thought that might be a really good idea because when the commercials come on the tv I loose all motivation to continue.
    Great job pushing through - ohhh, and yeah, tape the VF photo over the stop button for sure!

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  3. Black KnightMay 8, 2011 at 4:59 AM

    I hate the dreadmill, I used it only after the surgeries to come back to walk. Another time I had to run on it because of the storm and I could not skip the long run (the marathon day was on the corner).
    I prefer other kind of pictures.....

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  4. WhitneyMay 9, 2011 at 3:24 PM

    Oh thank you for posting that picture for my Monday afternoon. I love me some Landon.

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  5. LaurieMay 31, 2011 at 3:40 PM

    I hate them. Hate. HAAAAAAAAAAAATEEEE. I avoid them as much as possible and only step on when my other options are running in 6 feet of snow or temps that have more than two numbers to them. I run as fast as I can (not smart, I know) just so I can GTF off the thing.

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