Die you horrible treadmill, die!!!

So, in keeping with my week of firsts, I did something this week that I've never done before that I'm a little proud of, though not nearly as proud as I am of my FIRST 5K EVER. I ran on the treadmill for a solid hour.

You know I've been having problems lately with this thing called a treadmill (though I like to affectionately call it "my hamster wheel"). It's all in my head, but I just have the darnedest time running on that thing for more than 20 or 30 minutes at a time. I hate it. But Monday I ran for a solid hour (plus 5 minutes walking warm up and 5 minutes walking cool down).

I've had the treadmill for probably 10 or 12 years and in all the times I've used it, I've never ran for more than 20 minutes straight on it until just recently when I ran a solid half hour. So this was a good step forward for me, being able to stick with it for an hour.

Tuesday, I didn't get on the treadmill then today I had problems with it again. I could only run for a half hour and then I had to stop and walk. I ran/walked the last 30 minutes—5 or 10 minutes running then 5 or 10 minutes walking.

I know it's a mental block with me, but I don't know how to get past it. I've been discovering lately that this whole weight loss and exercise thing is all in my head. I can lose weight, if I let myself do it. I'm way past the point of being hungry because I'm not eating as much as I used to. And I can exercise, if I just convince myself I can do it. My body knows how to diet. And my body knows how to exercise. I'm way past the point of feeling exhausted from minor exercising. I remember when I first started how hard it was for me to just walk for 10 minutes. Walk! Not run! It was hard. I was so out of breath and I felt like my chest was going to explode from my heart beating so hard.

Now, I know I can run for more than an hour—non-stop—and know that I will feel just fine afterwards. But my mind keeps telling me that I can't do it on the treadmill.

I suppose this is all a process. My mind used to tell me I couldn't run for more than a minute or two. Now look at me. I suppose it's just something I'm going to have to keep at until my mind finally relents and lets me have my way.

Man, sometimes my mind drives me crazy!

Wait, did I just say that out loud??

One thing that's been helping me stay on the treadmill (when I really want to be in bed or behind the computer blogging) is podcasts. I have found the be-all and end-all of the world's absolute best podcasts—NPR: http://www.npr.org/podcast. They have got hundreds of podcasts to subscribe to. All FREE! (except you really should support public radio, so don't forget to donate) I've found some wonderful podcasts on there.

I like All Things Music, which is a fresh mix of up and coming musicians. Of course my favorite is This American Life by Ira Glass—great simple stories and everyday people. I also like Story Corps which is interviews of everyday people (interviewed by their friend or family member) in a traveling sound booth. NPR Movies is another one that's cool. I LOVE movies, so this one is right up my alley. There's even one that's formatted in the old radio theatre style, called Radio Dramas. Well, I won't keep going on. They're all wonderful. If you have a favorite, leave me a note in the comments about it. I'm always on the look out for another great podcast. Like, I hear Jillian Michaels has a podcast. Has anyone heard it?

P.S. did I mention I lost 6/10ths of a pound this past Saturday? I can't believe I actually lost TWO WEEKS IN A ROW! It's been a while since that has happened. I'm on my way to making it 3 weeks. Look at me go!!

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