Treadmillin' it.

Today I made up the 5 miles I missed on Wednesday.  I did this on the treadmill in front of a TV that does not work:

It was better than staring at the wall.  But not by much.

It took me about 65 minutes to do those 5 miles, but I don't care.  I know a lot of people hate running on the treadmill; I'm not a huge fan myself.  However, I acknowledge that it has its benefits:

• When I need to run easy, like today, it forces me to run easy.  It's hard to "accidentally" speed up on the thing, and I really have no desire to keep hitting the "+" button next to the speed.  (Or the incline, for that matter.)
• When I need to run fast, it forces me to run fast.  It won't let me wimp out during repeats or intervals.
• It doesn't hurt my knees, my Achilles, or any other body parts I have issues with.  I always feel good after a treadmill session.
• I can wear summer running clothes in the middle of winter.  It gets hot on the treadmill, in case you didn't know.  Well, it gets hot if you're actually working out on it.
• When it is all snowy and icy and nasty and windy outside, I can still get a run in.  Even though I go nowhere. However, when I do an out-and-back course and  finish where I start, physics would tell me I didn't get anywhere, either.  Damn displacement.
• Interval and repeat sessions on the thing help me build mental toughness.  Why is it that 400s, 800s, and 1000s always seem so much longer on a treadmill?  They help my inner baby suck it the *bleep* up and finish.

While I don't look forward to running on the thing, it has helped me train for many a half-marathon--and it's helping me train for my first marathon.  Now we just need to get the hubbs to get the TV working so I can stop humming songs to myself, talking to myself, and trying to run while looking to my left out of the window, almost taking myself out in the process.  It's hard to train when you're dead, you know.