I'm So Hungry and How to Keep the Treadmill Interesting

….well, I feel ok right now, but yesterday I couldn’t eat anything at all. I had ice cream after my surgery, and then I made a mashed potato for lunch, and topped it with some 7 layer dip I had leftover from the Superbowl  It was really good, but I could only manage a few bites.

Furthermore, Zach and I had scheduled our wedding cake consultation for 5:00 PM yesterday, so sitting in front of a plate of delicious cupcakes in various flavors when you’re starving and can’t eat is a blessing and a curse, I’ll tell you.

I ended up choking down a few cheese ravioli when we got home.

This morning, I was bound and determined to get a filling breakfast, but all I could imagine being able to manage was oatmeal. It took me roughly an hour to eat it, but I got it all down. I didn’t eat at my desk, like I usually do, so I picked this up from Starbucks for a morning snack:

I love these juices so much, but I can’t usually justify the cost. Since I’m recovering from surgery, I thought I would treat myself.

You may be wondering why I’m at work at all. A lot of people are surprised I made it, but I’m actually not in very much pain at all, and I’m barely swollen. I figured it’s not too strenuous to sit at a desk, and to be honest, I’m probably feeling well enough to get in a run this evening. I’ll see how much food I’m able to take in — I wouldn’t want to exercise if I’m not getting enough fuel!

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Speaking of running, I wanted to talk a bit about the treadmill today. I’m constantly looking for ways to spice things up when I’m on the treadmill which will trick me into staying on there longer.

About a week ago, I got the idea to make up these cards and take them with me to the gym:

Which, in theory was a great idea! But, in practice, I ended up picking “Sprint” and “Run Fast” alternately about 5 times in a row, and I threw them with frustration onto the ground, and ended up just starting at 5.0 and increasing my speed a little every quarter of a mile. That worked out fine, but I was still on the lookout for something to spice up my treadmill workout. The problem I have with most treadmill “workouts” is that they are like work. If my recent obsession with Crossfit is any indication, when I’m working out at a gym, I prefer it to be more like playing on the playground than working out. (Speaking of Crossfit, I haven’t been since Friday. I signed up for Saturday’s class this morning, I can’t wait to get back into it!)

So, as usual, Janae at The Hungry Runner Girl saved me. A couple days ago, she posted a few ideas for treadmill workouts, and this one looked too fun to pass up:

It was so much fun, and much better than my measly attempt at a “pick a card” treadmill game. I skipped over the 10′s, because there just isn’t much room at my gym to jump off the treadmill and do anything, haha. I also skipped over a card because I had gotten three “increase incline” cards in a row and once I picked up the next one, I was like, “Oh no.” — but that’s the great thing about this workout. You have 52 cards in a deck, so if you skip one or two, it’s not like you’ll run out of interesting things to do. The very best part of this, is that you pick a card every 5 minutes, do what is on the card and then whatever time is left over, you just go back to a slow jog, so you’re getting lots of recovery even though each card is pretty tough.

Monday’s Deck of Cards Treadmill Run

I only had 30 minutes to spend on the treadmill on Monday, because Zach and I had plans, but I managed to get a pretty good workout in. I definitely would have kept picking cards if I had the time!

Question of the Day:
What do you do to keep yourself from getting bored at the gym? 

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