As those of you who work full time are aware, sometimes you have to adjust your training in order to fit everything in. After a 6:30 am class on Tuesday, I have a window of opportunity to get in a short workout before starting the rest of the day. Last week I got in a swim, and before that I did 5 mile loop around base.
Tuesday I did something new. Realizing that I train excusively on flat roads, I decided to hit the treadmill for some uphill running. The primary risk to any runner attempting hill repeats is calf/achilless strain, so for this reason I kept the speed at a constant 6 mph (only 10 min per mile!). After a five minute warm-up, I did 8 x 2 minutes at 8% elevation, then finished up with a quick cool-down. 3 miles total in 30 min.
I definitely enjoyed this short but somewhat challenging workout, and look forward to building on it. The treadmill even gave me total feet climbed- I think it was 785. Just another measuring stick!
Wednesday I felt it was time to ease back into flat intervals, so after a couple of miles with the dog went back out for some 800 meter repeats. Since it's been 2 weeks since my last interval session, the goal today was not to run blazing times, but get in a good quality workout with short rest.
The first 800 was a slow 3:14, however after the first 4 or so I was running them in 3:07-3:08 consistently. This turned into a very good workout for me- in full sweats (it's getting cold here!), I did 10 x 800 meters averaging 3:09, with just 60 seconds recovery. This was a much better workout than I could have done with a continuous tempo run.
I am done with the hard stuff until Sat, when I hope to attempt another 17-19 miles. I'm feeling good about my progress and praying that I don't get sick anytime soon.
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