Treadmill reading

I read a lot of books while I’m on the treadmill, or the elliptical trainer.

My 300mph life features teenagers-with-angst, demanding bosses, a house that threatens to fall apart on a regular basis, and spare time devoted to writing the next book.  It took me forever to realize that time on the treadmill was the only quality time (i.e. uninterrupted) I got in the day.  Usually, I was busy trying to finish up on the treadmill so that I could get the rest of my day done, so that I could get to the “real” uninterrupted quality time (around 9 p.m.), when I could finally write.

But that’s a big chunk of time that really just gets wasted if you only run or peddle or walk.  You can listen to music and thumb through a dog-earred magazine, or even, depending on your gym, watch TV or a DVD.  But the sound sucks on those TV’s, and besides, the gym always has Red Hot Chilli Peppers up at full volume on the weight room speakers … you haven’t a hope of hearing the dialogue on a quiet drama.

At first, I tried to figure out a way to write while I was on the treadmill.  Yeah, I know, I’m kinda weird.  Writing is my first priority, and that big chunk of time I’d just discovered was sitting there, begging to be used.  But despite some very creative and out-of-the-box thinking, I have yet to figure out a way to both write and walk.

But reading…  Ah!  I finally have reading down to an art, and can happily get lost in a book when I’m on the treadmill.  I even listen to music while I’m doing it.  I borrowed a trick I learned from when I was studying at university.  The acrylic “magazine holders” some gyms provide aren’t wide enough for even a standard paperback book opened up, and totally inadequate for your average hardcover.  But they do work well for electronic reading devices, so when the book I’m reading is electronic, I grab one of those.

The trick I borrowed from uni was to find a wide, stiff piece of card or other rigid material (one side of an office binder, torn off, is almost perfect).  Then find a big, strong elastic band, or make one the right size out of hat elastic.  Stretch the band over the long dimension of your board.  Slide the open paperback under the band.  Prop the board/book combo on the magazine shelf of the treadmill, or even a magazine rack, and there you go.  The book stays open and flat, and you just have to reach up to slide the next page over every few minutes.

I’ve noticed that a few other people at my gym have adopted my idea.  We smile at each other as we pass in the cardio room.   I guess that’s because we’ve discovered that working out on the treadmill is bliss. <grin>