Running on a treadmill: help, need tips, please!

I love the outdoors! If it wasn't for the pleasure of enjoying the fresh air, I'm not sure I would love running so much. Conversely, I hate running inside and especially on a treadmill. Thankfully, I live in a paradise from many aspects and, in the context of this running blog, not only for the perfect weather we have in the Bay Area but also the amazing profusion of trails around, from flat ones along the Bay, to hilly ones either East or West.

I've visited 49 countries so far and ran almost everywhere... outside! In Singapore, it was so hot and humid at times, that I used the hotel's treadmill from time to time but, otherwise, I ran in South Africa or Senegal even when it was deemed to be unsafe. I ran through Hong Kong and Shanghai. And many other busy places and suburbs, to the point of writing quite a few posts labeled "Running in...", see in the right margin. In Paris, I even had to cross the Seine one night on a bridge on the Périphérique, which is the highway going around the whole city, not meant for pedestrians, oops!

So, when I visited Saudi Arabia for the first time in 2011, I ran 22 miles across Riyadh, only to find out the next day that my local colleagues thought I was crazy because I didn't realize I could have offended some local officials and religious. This time, Agnès explicitly asked me to stay inside and, with the 11-hour time difference, and therefore jet lag, it was a good thing that the Double Tree gym was open 24 hours a day!

3 days after my 24-hour race, I was still recovering so didn't push the pace but, even at 8 min/mile or 12 km/h, it felt so uncomfortable bouncing on this machine, with all the noise that it makes. The first night, I couldn't go longer than 8K (8 miles), I was so bored, feeling like in a hamster wheel in a cage, and I really hate this idea/thought...

The second night, I uploaded a movie on my iPhone and that distracted me enough to go for 20K, not even to the end of the movie... 8 miles the following day and a half-marathon the 4th night. I really wanted to run more, but couldn't indoor, even while watching a movie on my small iPhone screen.

So, here is my question to you, if you manage to log many miles on a treadmill yourself, either by convenience or if you live in areas to hot, cold or humid to enjoy the outdoors: what are your tips to make that, if not enjoyable, at least bearable?

I hope to hear back from you, because, with the overall insecurity around the world, I may need to get back in the wheel and better get used to it to log a few of my miles occasionally. Thank you in advance!