Indoor Cardio; Speed Intervals

Do you know which one is me?

“The brick walls are there for a reason. The brick walls are not there to keep us out. The brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don’t want it badly enough. They’re there to stop the other people.”  ~Randy Pausch, The Last Lecture

I am going to share a secret with you.... I don't enjoy running.  I wake up with the same dreadful feeling towards running as most people do.  The only difference is that I remind myself of how fantastic I feel after running and get up and do it.

Nothing compares to the exhilarating feeling of getting outdoors for a run.  The worse the weather, the more empowering it feels to be out there doing it.  When it's raining out it reminds me of my college days when, on rainy days in East Lansing, during marching band practice we would yell out "it's snowing in Ann Arbor". I still do that sometimes when I am out running in bad weather, but my most common battle cry is "we're doing it"!  It reminds me and my hubby that we are out doing what most made an excuse not to do.

This winter has been too brutal for even us diehards and we have resorted to many more dreadmill runs than we would like.  To keep it interesting I prefer to do interval training.  The same pattern in this workout can be used for any cardio exercise: bike, elliptical, running.  This workout is one that you should work casually towards.  Replace 1 minute segments with 20 or 30 second segments until you build up the endurance.  You can also increase speed by 1/2 mph increments instead of 1 mph increments and build up from there.

Printable Version

30 Minute Run – LT’s Speed Intervals
Time	Tempo	Comments
5 min.	Casual run         (I start at 6 mph or a 10 min. mile)	This should be a comfortable pace.  You are jogging, but you can breathe easily through your nose.
2 min.	Increase speed 1 mph	This is Pace B
2 min.	Starting pace	Recover
2 min.	Pace B
1 min.	Increase speed 1 mph	This is Pace C
2 min.	Pace B
2 min.	Starting pace
2 min.	Pace B
1 min.	Pace C
1 min.	Increase speed 1 mph	This is Pace D
1 min.	Pace C
2 min.	Pace B
2 min.	Starting Pace
1 min	Pace B
1 min	Pace C
1 min	Pace D
2 min	Starting Pace
Cool down at a comfortable pace and then stretch