Olympic Treadmill Games

Whether or not you support the Olympics, one thing they are good for is passing time on the treadmill. As if watching the sport wasn't enough, you can turn it into your own little game to occupy yourself, at least, watching the sport isn't quite enough for me, so I turn it into a game to occupy myself.

One problem I have with the treadmill is that the clock is right there, right in front of me, moving in slow motion, and I....can't....stop....looking at it. I don't have this problem when I run outside. I wear a watch, but I don't look at it (much), and the time just passes, and I just run, and life is good. But on the treadmill, time doesn't seem to pass, and life sucks.

This is where the Olympics come in. The tv is high enough that while looking at it, the time on the treadmill is out of my field of vision. Last week I played the game called 5 Skiers. 5 skiers had to ski down the hill before I looked at the clock. During speed skating, I played the commercial game, where I could only look at the clock at the commercial. Today, during cross country skiing, I got a little crazy. I was unfamiliar with the team sprint event and had no idea how long it would take. I had my iPod on so I couldn't hear the commentary. I decided not to look at the clock until the race was finished. I know - I'm living on the edge! There was a little clock on the side of the screen, but somehow I managed to keep myself from looking at that one (much). The time flew by!

Then again, I only ran for 30 minutes today. I upped my speed from 6 to 6.1 and ran 3 miles plus a fraction of a mile further to fill out the time. I'm travelling for work again this week, but packing my running shoes so I can find a gym to get a run in on Wednesday.