The Treadmill Is Boring

So I did a Google Search on those terms and got back 150,000 hits. When I first started the c25k running program a runner friend asked, "How do you run on the treadmill? It's so friggin' boring!". For a long time I didn't know what she meant. It was mainly because I was doing these walk/run intervals and didn't get bored. When I started getting into the 20+ minute runs I started to have an idea. Then when I did my first outside longer run, the 40 minute one on Sunday, and the time went by so much faster, I realized what she meant.

As an aside, I posted my training schedule on GoogleDocs if you'd like to follow along. Whenever I mention the training log I'll link to it. Unless I get sick of linking to it. I also posted a link on the sidebar just below the About Me section.

So today I had a 26 minute run on the schedule. I decided to do it at the gym for a bunch of reasons (hot outside, weight training after run, etc). I started out with an easy 5 minute walk. Then I got to running (at my newly reduced 4.7 pace) and I was bored after 5 minutes, even with my iPod. And the TVs? Cage Fighting on one and the SciFi Channel on the other. During my last 5 minutes a woman changed one to CNN so that helped. I cooled off with another 5 minute walk. It felt really good to be able to run the whole time without difficulty. I'm going to stick with this slower pace for a while. Oh, and I realized when I updated my training log my run was 2 minutes shorter than it was supposed to be. I'll try not to invalidate the whole run because of that. I finished up with weight training, which felt different and fun. My new weight training plan is Thursdays and Sundays, after my runs.

So today is weigh-in Thursday! Oh, but first, I found a new "before" picture on Miguel's computer. Can you believe that? And this was taken on 4/16/07, 2 months after I started Weight Watchers! That means I'd lost about 10 pounds when this was taken. At least that's Fat Free milk I'm drinking. So Miguel was floored when he saw it, "I never realized you were that fat." Hmph. Not sure how to take that. Well, let's take it positively :)

Without further ado, my weight this week was...oh, hold on a sec'. I want to preface this with telling you I was up nearly 3 pounds at the start of the week. 3 pounds! I had a lot more social meals than normal this week. A lot. Besides my Ventura adventures I went to an Italian Buffet with a colleague yesterday and an Italian Restaurant for dinner with mom last night. I tried to make decent choices (seafood, whole grains, veggies, etc) but restaurant food is always tricky. It's hard to know what's in there.

I was expecting a gain this afternoon. Anyway, my weight is...160.2 pounds. That's a .4 pound loss. I'll take it! I'm really serious this time when I say I'm going to carefully track this week. I've said that several weeks in a row and not really done it so this time I'm serious! So my new total pounds lost is 73.6 pounds. Not a big change this week but I'm happy as can be with it. We'll see what next week has in store.

What's on tap for the rest of the week? I have an 88 minute training ride tomorrow. Miguel and I will ride together and maybe check out another part of the Marin Triathlon route. Saturday is a day off but this weekend Mom and I are going to do our Spa weekend redux. There's a fun bike ride on Saturday morning from 8-10am. I think I'm going to do that. Then to the spa to relax, maybe take a yoga class. On Sunday I plan to get up early and do my 44 minute jog before it gets too hot. Then to the fitness center to do my weight training. Then back to the pool. Doesn't that sound grand? I'm going to take Ken Kesey's Sometimes a Great Notion to read I think. And a bunch of magazines in case I can't focus on a book.

I hope everyone has a fun and fabulous weekend!! Oh and if you have a secret for dealing with treadmill boredom let me know!