More running

I ran another nine miles on the treadmill today. I set the inclination on 0.5 to make the run more realistic. It has been said that treadmill running is easier than running on the road because the resistance is less on moving belts. That may well be true, but on the other hand the lack of efficient cooling induces a stress that is absent when running outside. When one runs instead of walking, and runs for longer than 20 minutes, that stress becomes a real factor to be reckoned with.

Anyhow, just to make things more "real" I compromised and ran "up" a 0.5% grade the whole way.

I finished 8.2 miles in the first hour and ran another 0.8 miles at a slower pace after. For the first time ever I was able to run for an entire hour without having to look at, or hear that annoying TV set. But nearly as soon as I was finished someone came in and turned it on. I understand that lots of people think it boring to run on a treadmill without doing something else, but I for one, really like it. 

Maybe those other people are not working hard enough? Personally, I have little extra bandwidth to devote to inane TV programs. Furthermore I find these distractions spoil the peace and calm that I get from the run. They make it hard for me to imagine running a real race, with spectators cheering as one approaches the finish. 

Very often, I "use" the images of a previous ironman finish to push myself through the last two or three miles, and to increase my speed at a time when my body yells, slow down now, this is enough. A blaring TV set makes it that much harder to entertain these fantasies. How about you? Do you use imagery to push yourself when you run?