Thursday, March 6, 2008

Five. The hard way.

So. I did my five yesterday, but I did it in intervals. I decided to run the 3:00 X 3:00s, which Erin referred to below. It's good in a really miserable sort of way. I do them on the treadmill. You can do them on the ground, but it takes a lot more (I think) both mentally and physically in order to push it as hard, when it's all up to you.

It breaks down like this:

Do a slow (10:00) 1 mile warm-up.

Run for three minutes for as fast as you can maintain. I jumped up to 9 miles an hour, which is a 6:40 pace. I know these things because my treadmill tells me so.

Recover for three minutes. When I'm starting out, as I was last night, I'll drop to a walk (3 miles miles an hour/20:00 minute pace). The first minute is usually spent with my hands behind my head, gasping for air. As I get into better shape, I usually tend to end up jogging during my recovery instead.

Do five sets of these, which will take 30 minutes total.

Finish with a slow (10:00) 1 mile cool down.

Last night, my workout took 50 minutes and I ran 5.06 miles.

Personally, I hate intervals. Or maybe I hate that I love them. I don't know...they are so miserable, but you kind of find yourself looking forward to next week, so that you can do them again.

If you do these, then I will tell you that they will give you a whole new perspective on running. You will use more or less the same muscles that you otherwise always use when running, only more so. You will work them harder. You will definitely know which ones you are working and when you are working them. You will surely focus on your breathing and perhaps even your form, if only in order to keep your mind off of everything else. You will suck in as much oxygen as your lungs will allow. You will exceed your VO2 max and your muscles will operate in oxygen debt. You will soak your shirt and feel the vibration of your ravenous metabolism long after you're done. You may get light headed in your last 30 seconds of each set. You may also experience tunnel vision, numbness in your lips and tingling in your fingers. I'm not trying to sound extreme, I'm just relating my experience. The benefit is that you will get fit - like athletic fit. You will work your whole body. You will feel capable and lean and strong. You will go do this now. You will not think I'm so full of myself when you are done.

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