How to Overcome Boredom on a Treadmill

Can I first say that I am blogging from 36,000 feet in the air? How exciting is that?! It would be much more exciting if it didn't cost me $12. Anyways, I'm on my flight to Portland and thought I'd recap my indoor half marathon.

In the clouds! I think we are somewhere over Utah or Idaho at the moment.

I'm not really sure how we survived before iPhones. I might have died on Saturday morning had I not had my iPhone and its Netflix app. My dilemma was that I had 13 miles on my training plan, but: I'm struggling with the heat wave in DC, I despise getting up at 5 am on Saturdays to try and beat the heat, and I hate treadmills. Basically, it's a no-win situation and/or I'm a ginormous baby. I texted The Almost Runner to cordially invite her to my funeral just in case I died of boredom. She politely accepted.

I took the lesser of the evils, which was the gym. I jerry-rigged a little home entertainment system on the treadmill. If there had been anyone else in the gym at 11:30 am on a Saturday they might have questioned whether I actually had a home or if I was planning on spending the night in the gym. I got one of those plastic magazine holders and a towel to make my eye-level platform for resting my phone. I set up my water bottle, towel, gu chomps, and cliff shot blocks. I had my training plan paper in front of me to. There was nothing else to pretend I had to do in order to procrastinate any longer. I pressed the start button on what would be a long run. 

RLRF calls for a slower pace on this run so I ended up doing it at about a 11:10 pace. I stopped twice to stretch and refill my water bottle. I think I drank a lot more water than in a usual half marathon - probably just because it was in front of my face.

Here are some tips for your netflix choice when running on the treadmill. Unless you want to end up like this...

source

...I suggest that you NOT pick a sad or funny movie. I don't care if this eliminates a lot of your choices. Nothing is worth flying off a treadmill. However, if you are more coordinated than I and you desire a more challenging work-out, then maybe crying or laughing while running is something you would like to try. I shall stick to random, grade B movies that I've never heard of such as 2 Days in Paris. It was actually kind of funny. I almost face planted a couple times. 

My other suggestion is to have your phone fully charged. Watching movies will drain your battery quicker than the cast of Jersey Shore disgraces America overseas.

Sorry Snooki, those are not welcome at the Coliseum.

What's the longest distance you've done on a treadmill?
How did you stay entertained?