Ive never been a treadmill person, but something changed on a recent vacation.

I wanted to get a few miles in every morning, but there was no convenient running route available.

Also, it was 90 degrees out.

I came back the next day, and the next.

Im as shocked as anyone to say this, but I kind of love the treadmill now.

On a treadmill, you dont have to worry about sunscreen,sun shirts, or sunburn.

The humidity doesnt suffocate you, and thewet bulb temperatureno longer matters.

Plus, there are bathrooms nearby if you need them.

Before you falltoodeeply in love, its worth remembering that treadmill running feels different than running on the road.

Now that youve thought about the pros and cons, lets talk about the how-to.

What are the factors that turn a dreadmill run into something you look forward to?

Settle in to the treadmill mindset

The first thing I want to highlight is mindset.

Any distance it’s possible for you to run outdoors, youcanrun on a treadmill.

And with the tips below, youll be able to do it without losing your mind.

So have a little faith, okay?

Get on the treadmill, hit start, anddontimmediately start asking yourself when it will be over.

Tell yourself its time to settle in and get comfortable, because youll be here a while.

you could handle it.

Want to feel like yourereallyin the lap of luxury?

Get a mini handheld fan orclip-on fanand point it at your face.

Students are always telling themselves theyll study or read on the treadmill.

And dont forget that theres often some good people-watching available, depending on where exactly your treadmill faces.

you might definitely double up on distractions.

A few tips there:

Dont expect your watch to know how far youre running.

Go for time based, or watch the distance manually.

If your watch or phone is measuring your pace, dont expect it to be accurate at that either.

Dont do workouts that expect you to change the speed or incline instantly.

It takes time for those motors to gear up.

Hop onto the sides of the treadmill when its time to end an interval.

The treadmill takes several seconds to slow down but you’re able to rest immediately.

Step back on once its gotten back to your recovery speed.

(Its been a minute and a half.

Here are a few ways to do that.

Thats an easy 40 minutes, and it will fly by.

A few examples:

Im going to increase the speed by 0.1 when I hit the next half-mile.

Im going to take a drink from my water bottle every five minutes exactly.

Im going to walk for one minute when I hit the halfway point in my workout.

Every quarter-mile, Im going to focus on a different aspect of my running form.

But if you need some specific workouts, try some of the following.

This was my go-to on the hotel treadmill.

Heres how you do it:

For the first mile, run your normal pace.

You might even make a game of seeing how many walk breaks you could pocket without using them.

Feel free to create your own version that uses minutes, if you prefer.

First quarter-mile: run your normal easy pace.

So if you normally jog at a 12-minute mile, your easy pace would be 5.0 miles per hour.

Play with this and create your own versions.

Put on a good spicy playlist for this one.

Warm up with an easy jog for 10 minutes

Do 20 (yes, 20!)

If you know your one-mile race time, thats the ideal pace.

Researchers discovered that the more people did this test, the better their cardio fitness got.

Its based around 30-second sprints, with nice long rests in between.

Spray some sanitizer on a paper towel, and wipe the treadmill screen and handles.

Everybody should be wearing shoes anyway.)

Sometimes people feel a little bit weird when stepping off a treadmill after a long workout.

To prevent this, take several minutes to decrease your speed.

Go to a slow jog, then a brisk walk, then a slow walk.

This should help re-acclimate you to life on a steady floor.