Photo by chuttersnap on Unsplash
Well, tomorrow I'm doing my third race in three weeks. I actually thought I had an extra day to rest before racing again. But either way I wasn't planning on taking tomorrow's race too seriously. It's an indoor triathlon and am looking forward to testing myself out. The aim it to accumulate as much distance as possible with a 10 minute swim, 30 minute bike ride and 20 minute run. My goal is to get to a total of 26km, which will be equivalent to a sprint triathlon.
Being an indoor triathlon, of course the run will be on a treadmill, and I know this can be a pain point for a lot of people, but there are a lot of times when I will use the treadmill as part of my training. I find a treadmill to be really time efficient as it means I don't have to worry about weather conditions, I can run make sure I am running at a specific pace I need and it usually a little more gentle on my legs than running on pavement.
I completely understand that a lot of people find running on a treadmill, like torture, but with a little forward thinking, maybe you can reduce the pain a little. So for this weeks "Fast Friday" I think I would go through my top 5 tips for making the treadmill more enjoyable.
Get Some Air. Sometimes a treadmill can turn into a dread-mill when there is not enough airflow coming to the runner, and it can make it feel a lot more difficult than it is. If this is you, make sure you get some appropriate fans going or at least open up some windows to get some more ventilation.
Try A HIIT Session. You don't always have to run at the same pace for an hour. Why not mix it up with some different paced intervals or even changing the incline of he run. My weekly speed work is 800m reps at my 5km pace followed by a 200m walk.
Use Some Entertainment. Kind of a no brainer, but if you're trying to be less board and make the time go a little quicker, you can always watch some TV, listen to music or an audio book. There's lots of options.
Bring a Friend. If you're using a gym treadmill, there's a good chance there will be a few treadmills lined up next to each other. This is a good chance to catch up with friends by running or walking side by side. This is also great if you both run or walk at different speeds as well, because there's no chance of either of you being separated.
Cover Up The Monitor. This might help by distracting you from the distance ticking over. If you cover up the treadmill monitor and keep running until you're tired or have run till the end of a 10 song play list, hopefully this will keep you more motivated to keep going.
About the Author
Hey I'm Vince, an Aussie living in New Zealand, trying my best to make the most of the time I have. I work as a Software Engineer but love to run and all aspects of it, including geeking out on the latest science to help get the most out of my body.
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