Sunday 20 January 2013

The Nothing Box

So running in Ottawa in the winter is not my favorite pastime when it is icy and -25C plus windchill, I prefer to run on my treadmill.  I have weak ankles and I am afraid of slipping and breaking something important.  Come to think of it running in the summer in Ottawa is also not my favorite pastime either when it is +30C plus humidity.  On  Sundays I do my Long Slow Distance (LSD) run and if it is too cold or too hot, I stick to my treadmill.  I have run for 3 hours on my treadmill and I actually quite enjoy it.  People always ask me how I can run on the treadmill so long, they find it boring and time goes so slow.  Runner and author Mark Stutcliffe said if he was given 6 months to live he would go run on a treadmill as time goes so slow when he is running on one.  I thought I would share my tip with you but first you have to watch this little clip about the difference between men and women's brains....go ahead, I will wait.

Men and Women's brains

So that is my secret, after living in a house of all men I have discovered my 'nothing box'.  The 'nothing box' is really quite useful, I wish I had discovered it earlier in my life.  Men's ability to zone out and complete seeming mindless tasks for hours on end is a valuable skill and it's no wonder they did not wish to share it with us women.  The trick to running for hours on a treadmill is to discover your 'nothing box'.  Now I do still have a women's brain so my nothing box is not totally empty but it allows me to be physically in one place and my mind to be in another.  I focus on my music, I think through work or other problems, I re-write movies I did not like, I do random silly stuff but I do not focus on my running.  Sometime I forget to take my walk breaks I am so far into my 'nothing box' but I have gotten pretty good at going there for 10 mins at a time.

So that is my secret, I know it seems silly but the way I get through my LSD's is to not focus on what I am doing, to go on auto-pilot and just do it.  I also use my 'nothing box' when I am swimming endless laps or cycling endless km's on a spin bike (do not go there on a real bike, it will not end well).  All I can say is ...try it, you might like it.

6 comments:

  1. I would definitely need to build up the skill to have a Noting Box! Lol I hate, hate, hate the treadmill...but its a necessary evil. I'll have to practice some of these techniques!

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    1. takes time but it makes it bearable. I cover up the distance part as well so I do not see how much more I have to do.

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  2. I'm with you, running outside in Ottawa in either the winter or the summer is not exactly pleasant! I love my treadmill too and I watch tv while I'm on it to keep myself entertained.

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    1. I knew you would relate to my weather complaints. I can not watch TV, I tried on the playbook but I had to focus and lack of focus is my trick. We should meet for a canal run sometime in the spring.

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  3. Love this! I have gotten into that state a few times, but it"s like that zen state in meditation as soon as I realize I am there I go 'yippee stay here!!' And there it goes. LOL

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  4. We joined a gym about a year ago. My partner and daughter swim. But me? I walk on the lovely padded track. We have a treadmill at home that I can use when the weather is too yucky to go to the gym, but I prefer that track. Like you, I problem solve, listen to my i-pod and have even written stories in my head. For some reason, I can't do this well on my treadmill. I think it's because I'm always getting distracted by other things that I should be doing.

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