Sunday, February 20, 2011

Great Speed workout

We did a great speed workout at running club on Saturday that I wanted to share. We started out with a mile (ish) warm up. We then moved into a ladder of 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 min. We did our 1 min run at 5k pace. Not too bad. Then we recovered for 1 min. We also did the 2 min run at 5k pace, and recovered for 2 min. The 3 and 4 min runs were at 10k pace , with 3 and 4 min recovery between--theses started to get a little harder to keep my pace steady. Then we did the 5 min run at 1/2 marathon pace. That was a LONG 5 min. But we weren't done yet! We then climbed back down the ladder, 4, 3, 2, 1. Those last two intervals at 5k pace were TOUGH!!! All in all we ran almost 8 miles of speed work. WOW. What a great workout. I think this would be a great workout to take to the treadmill--but maybe just shorten it a little--only climb up the ladder, or work up to 3 min and then back down again. It would mean you could get a good, hard run in, even if the weather is bad. Who else is praying the snow will end??

3 comments:

  1. Thanks Tara. I think that sounds great on the treadmill. I so wish I was at a running club with you guys. I am really needing a running partner. Your sis is beyond my miles right now since she is marathon training and my summer, fall buddies, pretty much take winter off. Keep giving me these ideas. They keep me going. Still trying to figure out today. Legacy center is closed for the holiday, and our roads are pure ice. The sun just came out so I am hoping for clear roads soon! This is actually good ragnar training. I wake up with the intent to run some days only to find a predicament like this morning. It forces me to run at different times of day, not just my usual plan.

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  2. Natalie, I forgot to post about strength. Don't make fun, but I have been doing the Jillian Michaels 20 min workout DVD's. The strength and abs are tough! I feel like most days I can barely get running in let alone strength, but I really think it helps with running. I sometimes do the DVD just before bed two or three times a week. I read an article in last months runners magazine about being a marshmallow. It talks about runners who don't do strength and once your body gets used to that its hard to progress without some strength exercises.

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  3. I really want to try this speed workout. I was going to do it today, but I use run keeper on my phone to track my runs, and thought it would be a pain to use to time these. I decided I probably need a gps watch soon. I looked at the running store today and they were $299-$400. If I am going to spend that much, I want to love it. Any suggestions?

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