Mostly About Running

Today I accomplished something that I haven't done in quite a while, I ran a mile in 7:20. Last year that wouldn't have seemed like a huge accomplishment because that was a pace I knew I could run at, or faster, but I've slacked off running in recent months.

My original goal was to see if I could sustain an 8mph pace or below on the treadmill for two miles, but almost halfway through the first mile I realized that something I ate for lunch wasn't sitting very well (I'll leave it at that) and that I was pushing my luck with trying to make it one mile on the treadmill in that condition. I somehow managed to finish the mile, perhaps because I wasn't focused on how much I dislike treadmills but instead focused on finishing the mile so that I could make it to the bathroom as quickly as possible. It was a bit disappointing because running-wise I felt great and wanted to keep going, but I felt weird for the rest of the day, especially after I ate anything. I'm not sick, but something isn't quite right.

I talked to Heidi today and found out that she is sick :( Get well soon!!!! I also read Karen's blog and am saying a prayer that her family gets over the flu soon, or whatever it is that is making them sick.

As I stated above, I really dislike running on treadmills. I find them boring and the time seems to drag by while the distance crawls by even slower. However, I've found that if I do intervals or hill workouts on the treadmill I can at least get myself to run for 30-35 minutes at a time. I suppose I should get used to treadmills because they will most likely be my only option if I want to run in a couple months.

There is one other thing I've found that helps me while running on the treadmill for which I can at least partially attribute to my friend George. A couple months ago George let me borrow a cd/dvd talk by Dr. Ray Guerendi. I really the talk and found it both entertaining and informative. I decided to look Dr. Ray up on the internet and found a podcast on iTunes of his "The Doctor Is In" radio show. Now I listen to that podcast while running on the treadmill because it keeps me more entertained and less focused on my dislike of treadmills than when I listen to regular music, which means that I am able to run longer. I've downloaded a couple hundred of his podcasts in hopes that they will continue to help me while running on a treadmill in Iraq.