Treadmill Blues

I ran/walked 8 miles on a treadmill yesterday.

I hate treadmills. In order to stay on a treadmill for more than five minutes without completely losing my mind, one of three things must happen: I must either have a really good book playing on my headphones, or I must turn off my human brain and go into robot mode, or I have to mess with my speed every few minutes.

Yesterday I was all settled in with my book, listening happily to Amy Poehler's  Yes, Please!, running along while my husband watched the disaster that was the first three quarters of Michigan State University's Cotton Bowl Game (which some how, the last quarter stopped being a disaster for MSU, and they won. We did not watch that part, of course. I firmly believe if we had been watching, they would have continued to suck, because my presence at a television exerts that much influence) from his treadmill.

And then my headphones stopped working.

In order for me to stay put, this means one of two things must have happened in order for me to run 5 more miles on a treadmill. Robot mode was achieved for about 3 more miles, and then I messed with my speed for the last 2 miles. It was... fun?

I so prefer trail running. Treadmills are good for me because they force me to run at a consistent speed. I know exactly how long I've been on that treadmill though. The advantage to treadmills right now is that is friggin' cold outside, and I'm a little more of a cold sissy than I am a hardcore trail runner.

At any rate, I'm looking forward to getting home to Michigan, where I know of trails on which I can run and get some good training time outside.  Which leads me to the second point of my post. My husband is my main support structure in this race. My husband lives in Madison, Wisconsin. My husband and I don't live together.

GAH!

More so than anything right now, I'm feeling a mix of sad and happy because I'm leaving in two days to head back to Michigan. I'm going to plan a bunch of trail runs for myself to help me keep my chin up, because this, dear readers, is too hard.

If any one in the Lansing area wants to trail run with me, let me know. They won't be terribly long, but they will be fun! I've heard we've had like zero snow.