Danielle Here:

Running on a treadmill has always been tough, but ever since I started running outside it’s been even tougher to get my long runs in at the gym. My co-blogger summed it up perfectly in this previous post. Just when I thought the monotony of running in place was getting the best of me, I was able to run 5.5 miles on the treadmill today! It felt amazing! The half marathon is creeping closer and closer so a lack of sunlight is no longer an excuse to keep my running shoes in the gym bag. I feel like I run much slower on the treadmill so it took me more than an hour to get it done. Once again, my Ipod saved me! I went through two playlists and I adjusted my running speed based on the tempo of each song. They are only 3-4 minutes each,  so the faster speeds were definitely doable for that short amount of time. Plus, I found the faster stretches compensated for my slower stretches, so I was able to slow down and breathe a bit while keeping a decent overall time. This tempo-based method also cut out some of that treadmill boredom, because the speeds and songs were constantly changing.  The treadmill is also a great way to judge your progress. I could barely run for 15 minutes on the treadmill when I started training, and now I’m doing more than an hour (and I probably could have stayed on longer). It was pretty clear, and very exciting to feelhow much stronger my body is now. I still prefer to run outside (how could I not when I live in such a beautiful place? ) but it was certainly encouraging to know I can go the distance indoors if needed. Happy Running!