Fun With Interval Training

Running high-intensity intervals on Tuesday tickled me: it was a butt-kicking workout and I had good, hard-sweating time with it. Generally, I enjoy running for the challenge of overcoming something I spent most of my life firmly believing my big butt would never let me do.

Here I am now on a plan to run half marathon (to run it well) and enjoying my training. Hee hee.

And today that plan had me run the following 6 miles…

• 4 miles around semi-hilly/medium grades terrain at 9:00/mile
• 4 x 1:00 aerobic intervals (~ 1 mile)
• 8 gentle pickups (~ 1 mile)

To steal some Web content, Runner’s World describes gentle pickups (in case you had as much a clue as I did—a.k.a. none) as:

“Walking, then slowly increase your leg turnover on a flat stretch for 100 meters—up to the point where you start to breathe hard. Hold it there for 10 to 20 meters, then gradually slow down. Walk to full recovery before you start the next one.” –RW

This break down of six miles was far more intense than Tuesday’s workout. Of course it started with twice the miles and ended with some real speed, so it wasn’t unexpected. And I jogged home with about thrice the sweat and a smile.

According to the training plan, the aerobic intervals and gentle pickups “improve your stamina, leg speed, running efficiency, and […] make your normal pace feel more comfortable.”

Results obviously require repetition and training, but I can feel my stride improving just after a couple days. I’m sure it’s 50 percent mental. But again, I had been running flat-fronted for so long that these faster intervals are finally letting me stretch my legs (without leading to dangerous speed while building distance). Plus, they make my runs interesting again!

I do have to admit, however, that I was a tad rundown at the outset: I returned to my power vinyasa yoga session during lunch today. The one that checks my hubris. But as I’ve previously mentioned, it leaves me with the type of soreness that makes me feel more powerful than pained, and maybe just a little bit tired.

One of these days I will complete the 90-minute workout (I think I’m up to 45 minutes), and I will be the Yoga Master. Or I’ll just settle for a gold star.

Bring on the Half Marathon

What am I waiting for? The Akron Half Marathon 6.5 weeks away, so I started my half-marathon training plan this afternoon with a 6-mile workout that included

On the track:

• 2 miles warm-up
• 2 x (1:00, 1:30, 2:00) high intensity, :30 jog in between + end recovery lap

Outside/semi-hilly terrain:

• 2 miles 9:00/mile pace

It was the first time I have ever done interval training and the first time my workout ever included anything other than the instruction “just run.” I’ve been itching to get some speed back (I was running too fast at the beginning; now I can’t get my pace back up!), and the interval training integrated into the half marathon plan I’ve borrowed from Runner’s World might be the key to getting my groove back.

And boy did I fly! The middle segment covered 2 miles, which I finished in a little under 13:00 (even with the resting jogs and recovery laps). Running at that speed, I could actually feel my stride coming back and my knees lifting—I wasn’t running flat-fronted anymore!

I must admit, however, that I wouldn’t have been able to push through the speed set without the two-mile warm-up. Duh, you say. Aside from my two weeks of sciatica recovery, I have never been hip to the warm-up—in running, swimming, cycling, anything. And it wasn’t that I thought it was a bad idea. I guess I just didn’t appreciate the warm-up for what it was supposed to be (a.k.a. I was lazy). So, I’ve long skipped the warm-up and just launched into whatever it is that I was doing. Silly me!

What surprised me most was that I actually got myself to run today. I wasn’t tired on Sunday after the race, but Monday and Tuesday were a little rough. Maybe it was all the excitement of reliving my first triathlon over and over again. That must have been it. But I think the allure of my first half marathon got me to the track today and then out on the street. And so it begins…