Trying Something New for Treadmill Intervals
After an uneventful 5km run before work, during which I was pleasantly surprised to find that the sidewalks were almost completely devoid of snow and ice, I was once again ready for some intervals on the old treadmill at the gym at lunchtime. Looking back on my previous efforts of this sort I realized that what I was doing was more tempo/lactate threshold and less true speed work or anaerobic. It's because my recovery paces were too fast at just below 5:00/km (8:00/mile), so I wanted to do something that actually could be considered true speed work.
What I did was a set of near 800m intervals with two minutes of recovery. I say near 800m because I ran "fast" for three minutes, but just not fast enough to get through a whole half-mile in that time span. The pace I chose would have had me cross 800m at 3:14, but I wasn't about to try and follow that on the treadmill.
BTW, the 9.9mph or 3:46/km (6:04/mile) pace that would allow me to complete 800m in exactly three minutes is just too aggressive for me right now, though I'd like to be able to get there sometime this year.
So, to keep things simple, here's what went down:
I had a bit of a scare right after my fourth fast three minute portion: as I slowed the treadmill down to 6.7mph for my two minutes of recovery I felt a twinge in my right calf that felt like the muscle was about to cramp up. I paused the treadmill and stepped off to test the calf and stretch it. A minute or two of that and I decided it would be OK to get back up there and do the last interval. Before starting into the fast portion, however, I ran the two minutes of recovery that I had just started before my calf scare. I guess that means that I took too much rest before the last fast bit, but I'd rather do that than suffer an injury.
I ran the last fast portion really concentrating on my form and saving the calf as much as possible. After that I ran I finished off the run at the slower pace until I completed 40 minutes. The total distance was 8.2km and I hope that the calf is not a harbinger of things to come. I'll have to watch it and make sure things don't get out of hand. After all, injury-free running takes a lot of discipline, which I equate with enforced disappointment. Not the type that comes with an injury which puts you on your ass for weeks or months on end, but the kind that comes with the realisation that perhaps you will not hit some of the training goals you've set for yourself until the problem area settles down and you're back to 100%.
What I did was a set of near 800m intervals with two minutes of recovery. I say near 800m because I ran "fast" for three minutes, but just not fast enough to get through a whole half-mile in that time span. The pace I chose would have had me cross 800m at 3:14, but I wasn't about to try and follow that on the treadmill.
BTW, the 9.9mph or 3:46/km (6:04/mile) pace that would allow me to complete 800m in exactly three minutes is just too aggressive for me right now, though I'd like to be able to get there sometime this year.
So, to keep things simple, here's what went down:
| Duration | Speed | Pace (miles) | Pace (km) |
| 10:00 | 6.7mph | 8:57/mile | 5:34/km |
| 3:00 | 9.2mph | 6:31/mile | 4:03/km |
| 2:00 | 6.7mph | 8:57/mile | 5:34/km |
| 3:00 | 9.2mph | 6:31/mile | 4:03/km |
| 2:00 | 6.7mph | 8:57/mile | 5:34/km |
| 3:00 | 9.2mph | 6:31/mile | 4:03/km |
| 2:00 | 6.7mph | 8:57/mile | 5:34/km |
| 3:00 | 9.2mph | 6:31/mile | 4:03/km |
| 2:00 | 6.7mph | 8:57/mile | 5:34/km |
| 3:00 | 9.2mph | 6:31/mile | 4:03/km |
| 2:00 | 6.7mph | 8:57/mile | 5:34/km |
| 5:00 | 6.7mph | 8:57/mile | 5:34/km |
| 40:00 | 7.64mph | 7:51/mile | 4:52/km |
I had a bit of a scare right after my fourth fast three minute portion: as I slowed the treadmill down to 6.7mph for my two minutes of recovery I felt a twinge in my right calf that felt like the muscle was about to cramp up. I paused the treadmill and stepped off to test the calf and stretch it. A minute or two of that and I decided it would be OK to get back up there and do the last interval. Before starting into the fast portion, however, I ran the two minutes of recovery that I had just started before my calf scare. I guess that means that I took too much rest before the last fast bit, but I'd rather do that than suffer an injury.
I ran the last fast portion really concentrating on my form and saving the calf as much as possible. After that I ran I finished off the run at the slower pace until I completed 40 minutes. The total distance was 8.2km and I hope that the calf is not a harbinger of things to come. I'll have to watch it and make sure things don't get out of hand. After all, injury-free running takes a lot of discipline, which I equate with enforced disappointment. Not the type that comes with an injury which puts you on your ass for weeks or months on end, but the kind that comes with the realisation that perhaps you will not hit some of the training goals you've set for yourself until the problem area settles down and you're back to 100%.
Labels: injury scare, intervals, running, treadmill
posted by Vava at
1:32 PM
5 Comments
