Day 14: Intervals

I ran intervals on the treadmill this morning. 3/4 mile warmup (it was the morning, after all), and then 8x200m, spaced by 200m jogs. Total run 2.75 miles in 20-21 minutes (forgot to check the final time). My HR at T+1 was 162, and T+5 was 125. My paces were:

2 x 10 mph (6 min/mi)
2 x 10.5 (5:42)
2 x 11 (5:29)
2 x 12 (5:00)

So I managed to get in some work at my target mile pace. Now, if I can just hold that pace for eight times the distance, I'm done!

I'll try to get in one longer run tomorrow, and a medium intensity 3mi on Sunday.

Treadmill running I've often wondered how running on a treadmill compares to running on the road. My gut feel is that treadmill is slightly easier, but I can't come up with any physics that would explain why. So I mainly use my treadmill times for comparison against other treadmill times, to track my progress. I have to say, though, it seems I work just as hard on the treadmill for a given pace as I do on the road. A friend of mine who is an elite runner thought the treadmill was maybe 5% or 10% easier, and so he would put a slight incline on the treadmill to make up the difference. If anyone out there knows the answer, let me know.

My other minor issues with the treadmill are more functional. One is that the Lifecycle machines I use seem to give me credit for the speed I punch in before the belt and I actually get to that speed. So if I start at 8 min/mi pace, it can take a good ten seconds to get up to speed, but I still get to the quarter mile in two minutes even. Not a big deal, but it makes a difference in the intervals, so I normally enter the high speeds a few tenths of a mile before I start the interval to give the machine time to catch up, and I enter the slower speed only after I finish the distance. The other issue is that dialing in the lower speed when I am running 12 mph is extremely awkward. Not sure how to get around this, but seems like a great way to pull a muscle!