So You Registered for A Marathon: The Dreadmill

Living in Florida has its perks. The summers (early May until late October), however, are not one of them. Between the Love Bugs, spiders large enough to eat a mid-sized cat, humidity thick enough to drown you, and the fear of your flip-flops melting to a Publix parking lot, let’s just say running outside is less than ideal. So, welcome to Dreadmill Season.

How can you find the motivation to run in-place for miles on end? What about suffering through these runs when they incorrectly record your mileage? How about this: how do you not just hop off mid-run and get distracted by something else? (Peep those scary-looking machines on the other side of the gym.)

Dreadmill Running Can Be Fun

I know – crazy, right? What can be fun about huffing and puffing through a run on a souped-up conveyer belt? You have your phone – put on a fun show. Watch a movie you know you can just lose yourself in. If you’re a YouTube junkie, watch something inspirational on there.

Make A Game Out Of It

As runners, we have to have at least a slight competitive streak. See how close you can get to getting your watch to reflect the numbers on the treadmill. Or, see if you can beat your treadmill 5K/10K – whatever mileage – PR (personal record).

Cover The Numbers

Maybe watching the time crawl by makes your Dreadmill runs harder. Cover it up! Focus on how far you’ve gone, not how long you’ve been going. Or, if you can’t stand to stare at the miles slowly adding up, cover them and go by the time on the machine.

Read Something

When my mom walks on the Dreadmill, she’d rather read than plug into something. Got a good book? Audiobook? Let your imagination get lost while getting those miles in. This way, you can kill two birds with one stone and work your mind and your muscles.

What do you do when the weather doesn’t behave? Do you hit the gym or find a YouTube fitness video to follow? Or, do you throw in the towel and call it a “rest day”? Let me know in the comments!