Hamster Brain

For the love of God, oil that thing!

When I'm on the treadmill, sometimes I'll start calculating pace and finish times in my head.  Unfortunately, once that starts, I can't stop doing it.  No matter how hard I try to focus on something else, I'll just keep coming back to it.  Want to make a treadmill run seem even longer and more excruciatingly boring?  Constantly look at the time, how far you've gone, and how far you have to go, all the while performing math with those figures.  That will enhance the torture considerably.

So, even after I figure out that if I hold my current pace for the final 4.5 miles I will finish at 6:02, I compulsively keep verifying the time, just because.  I don't know why I do this, and I don't know why it's only on the treadmill.  Maybe that's why I don't look at my watch anymore, because I don't want to fall into that trap while on the road.  It can even lead to a headache, simply because sometimes I will get some numbers that aren't easy to work with and my mind can't let go.  It only gets exacerbated over time, because it gets harder to do the math with increased fatigue.

I can't be the only one, can I?  When you really stop to think about it, running in place for 10 miles is incredibly boring for your brain, so maybe it needs to do something to justify such futility... you're literally going nowhere fast.

Feel free to leave a question or comment about this post!