The city of Toronto woke up to a blast of winter this morning, with a few centimetres of the white stuff blanketing the city and practically immobilizing the morning commute for hours. Its funny how, in a country with the reputation for heavy snowfalls, there seems to be very little recollection of how to handle slippery road conditions. But I digress (and thank my lucky stars that I take transit to work).
With the snow it became obvious that while only one day earlier I had been out running on city sidewalks, today's run was going to have to be taken inside. I've mentioned it before but I'll say it again, I am not a huge fan of the treadmill. It's just plain B-O-R-I-N-G and running can be challenging enough without the added element of sheer tediousness. I'm practically yawning just thinking about it.
That said, I was committed to running and decided what better way to mix it up a little then to work on some speed training?
The workout:
5 minute warmup @10:00/mile
intervals of 2 minutes @ 8:30 and 1 minute of walking
distance: 3 miles
time: 31:40
For me a sub 9:00 mile is quick and not a pace I can maintain for any length of time. It is, on the other hand, a pace that I would love to one day run consistently. And the way I see it the only way to get faster is to practice. And practice I did. The run was tough (I was panting up a storm) but also invigorating! It feel amazing to run faster than usual, even if it was only 120 seconds at a time.
And you know what was even better? That 32 minutes went by super quick. Me likey!
The plan is to incorporate speed training into my weekly routine in the hopes that come May I will have improved my 10k time by 4 minutes, leaving me with a new PR of 55 minutes. The countdown to May 1st is on!
So tell me, did you get snow where you are? How long did it take you to get to work today (or were you lucky enough to get a snow day?
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I agree with you that even in places that get regular snow, people seem to forget how to drive in it. Sigh. Fortunately, there's been no real snow here as of late. It's been snowing in the mountains-- which is where I like it to be.
ReplyDeleteWhoa that's a lotta snow! I happen to be currently residing in the only state in the US where it isn't snowing so I don't know anything about all this snow stuff. The treadmill is boring but hey, at least it's there to get you through your workout when its cold outside! :)
ReplyDeleteWay to go for committing to your run and putting up with the treadmill! When the weather is ugly outside, it's definitely easy to use that as an excuse not to exercise! Not that I would know from personal experience or anything...
ReplyDeleteI love running interval runs like this as opposed to longer runs! I actually did a similar workout tonight and it felt great. Like you, my pace of 8:30 is pretty much a dream mile pace, but hopefully all those intervals will have you at that pace in no time!
ReplyDeleteWe finally got snow but not much and I got to go into work two hours late :) I realllly dont like running on the treadmill either but the intervals definitely help the time go by quicker! Good job!!
ReplyDeleteWe got a lot of snow in New Brunswick too! I was lucky enough to get a snow day (oh how I love paid days off!)
ReplyDeletejust wanted to let you know that you got an award on my blog today!
http://positivelymeesh.wordpress.com/2011/01/13/snow-day/
Agreed! People totally forget how to drive when a little snow flies!
ReplyDeleteSounds like you had a great workout! I love the challenging workouts that make you feel really good!
The snow around here is INSANE! We have nearly two feet. Schools are closed again today, but I have cabin fever. I'm about to hike to the gym :)
ReplyDeleteNice workout on the treadmill!
Good for you for switching it up! Usually I say 'ohhh SNOW, so pretty!' but I'm so over our snow and ice... I'm now wondering what that little groundhog will see in a couple weeks :)
ReplyDeleteSeriously people CANNOT drive in the snow. Makes me insane. I am a weirdo because I actually hate walking/running outside but love it on the treadmill haha I think I am the only one.
ReplyDeleteWe got a ton of snow here! I'm going to be running on the treadmill for a while I think. I started to incorporate speed work as well. It definitely makes time go by faster.
ReplyDeleteWe've had two big snows in NYC so far, definitely unusual for this time of year. I highly recommend Yaktrax for running in the snow.
ReplyDeleteWe only got about a quarter inch of snow this past week - I'm so jealous of all of yours! So pretty:)
ReplyDeleteWay to go on the run - that's awesome!