Gosh, how do these posts keep getting so long so quick, the whole purpose of this post was my sick :p workout I made up on the fly today. I suggest you scroll past all my blabbing and get to the good stuff ;)
I'm a wimp-a-limp (this is how you or at least *I* start talking when you have a 5-yr old, I call him stink-a-link on a daily basis) when it comes to running in the cold. Today it is 36º, the wind chill makes it feel like 26º, nope not going outside in that. And while we are talking about not running in the cold let me add: I have been thinking about those 4 January Sunday 5ks and reconsidering, the one reason I really wanted to do them is because most of them are run on trails in the beautiful local NYS parks. The first race is at the park right by my house, I used to train there with my college team (I live 2 min from the school.) The second race is at my beloved High School XC course, which I also trained at in college (can't beat the hills there).
With that said, I just get minimal enjoyment from running, let alone racing in the cold. I probably will get outside on some of the nicer days to do longer-ish runs but that is completely different from racing and inhaling deep breathes of frigid air while running sub 7 min miles ;). So since my running and racing is based on enjoying what I do, I am most likely not going to run those. I think you can register individually if you only want to do one, it is not as cost effective, but that's my game plan. If I get the urge to run one or I find out a certain date is supposed to be on the mild side, I might jump in and go for it. Otherwise the winter will be for training, increasing speed and strength, I'm excited :D
Besides my only experience with winter racing involves going around a 200 meter track 17364813746 times and I'd like to keep it that way! :) I miss my days at The Armory :(, actually there is a seriously awesome idea, after I finish this post I am looking to see if they hold any open races there :D
Okay now on to what I this post was really about before I got sidetracked. Since I am too wimpy to run in the cold, I need to find ways to keep things fun on the treddy while still getting in a booty kicking workout. If you have been reading my blog for a bit you might have noticed that I am a lover of all things short and intense and I waiver on the longer slower stuff, this is even more so when it comes to the treadmill. I'm pretty sure that this is the case for most people, my problem with it this: on the treadmill I will start at a decent pace I can maintain for a while, but then I get bored and my legs want to move faster so I bump it up a bit, and then a bit more . . . you can see where this is going. The most I've been able to get in is 3 miles, the pace starts at a 6.0 to get my legs adjusted and then by the end I am some where around 9.0. It's a good workout, especially for working on negative splits, but I can't get past that 3 mile hump because I exhaust myself out of boredom.
I base most of my training on how I feel and what I want to do, while still attempting to mix it up a bit. This has worked well for me because much of the time I want to push myself and on the days that I don't I take it as a sign from my body to take it easy on that day. I think most people are more comfortable with a set training plan, you have to do what is right for you :)
Today I wasn't sure of what I wanted to do, I just knew it would be on the treadmill. Since I'm obsessed with incline intervals, I decided that was what I would do. I started walking, increased the incline to 12% and when it had been 3 mins I upped it to 6.5 mph for my first interval.
"Mmmm nevermind, this is not what I want to do today," that is what I said to myself during the first interval.
Okay brought it back down to 3 mph, thought "Fine, I just did this workout on Saturday, I really don't want to do any kind of distance on the mill right now, I did 3 miles yesterday and that was long enough"
My decision: I'm going to take it easy and enjoy this workout, I need a little soul soothing. I put on some Rebelution Reggae which made me reminiscent of summer and decided I would just walk at 12% incline, 3.5 mph for an hour. It would be relaxing, and I would still be getting a decent workout in for my leg muscles. I also though that at the end I would throw one running interval in and see how long I could hold it.
At 20 minutes in, I had a change of heart. A very, very good change of heart :D The walking was going well, I felt like I was still working hard and I was breaking a sweat. Then at 20 mins my intensity monster got the better of me and I thought "why not throw in a 7.0 mph run for as long as I can hold at every 10 min mark." Pace calculators tell me that 7.0 at 12% incline is equivalent to a 5:45 ish mile effort on flat ground, so this is a decent pace :) I went ahead and ran at 7.0 for 1 min and then back to 3.0 to recover for 9 mins. Buttt then I get another brilliant idea, "the time will go a lot faster, plus I'll benefit more if I do it at every 5 min. interval." Now you've got a serious workout on your hands.
The final product looked like this:
All done at a 12% incline, also most of the 7.0s were done for 45 secs. (except for the first and the last which were 1 min. and there was one in the middle that only lasted 30+ secs. It is easier for me to type out if I just write the whole minute range.)
Min Pace
0-20 ~ 3.3- 3.5
20-21~ 7.0
21-25 ~ 3.0-3.4
25-26 ~ 7.0
26-30 ~ 3.0-3.4
30-31 ~ 7.0
31-35 ~ 3.0-3.4
35-36 ~ 7.0
36-40 ~ 3.0-3.4
40-41 ~ 7.0
41-45 ~ 3.0-3.4
45-46 ~ 7.0
46-50 ~ 3.0-3.4
50-51 ~ 7.0
51-55 ~ 3.0-3.4
55-56 ~ 7.0
56-60 ~ 3.0-3.4
60-61 ~ 7.0
So there you have it 9 intervals in all, I ran faster than I would in my other workout since I had 4 min rest as opposed to 1 min, I also did more intervals than If I had stuck with my first workout. This workout was a great success! I felt spent by the last one, which I made myself do (can't I just stop at 60?) and hold for 1 minute. An ass-kicking workout that I loved every minute of :D, plus my Courage to Grow, Rebelution album was exactly 1 hour :)
Such a good song:
Love this part: "Cause everyone one of us
Has a purpose here
Sometimes its hidden underneath your fear
Just takes some time for the truth to come out"
Also I loved this line from their song "Running" (and aptly named as well):
"She's so tired, she closes her eyes trying to live up to a standard that the world provides"
Oooh one more note: Today was a real test of my scale obsession, after a bucket-sweating workout like this I would immediately want to jump on the scale and see how low I was. And today was no different, I wanted to check it out, badly, but I chugged my water instead :D
for assistance. My goal is to get at least one good pull-up, but I think I'll aim for one good chin-up first.
) so I brought it up to 7.5-8 mph and did 5 more min. (never underestimate the power of music.)