Ok – time to get focused again!
The last of the house guests and family / friend visits, etc are done for the summer. For a while I was doing ok at handling both but in the end the running slid (but at least 2 weekends ago was solid with 13.1 and 19.1 miles on Saturday and Sunday but since then I have only done 3 runs including tonight – not a good thing)
But at least tonight I was antsy to get moving and get some miles in! I needed to get a longer run in to get my miles up and keep rebuilding my endurance but the thought of a long slow slog tonight was kind of horrifying.
On the other hand, I really wanted to get some speed in to get energized.
In the end I compromised – I would try for 10 miles on the treadmill but I would do it doing 5 minute run / 1 minute walk cycles with the run cycles done with some speed if I could manage it. At least that way I should finish feeling energized instead of drained.
I did the first 5 minutes of running starting out a 7 mph and then every minute bumped the speed up 0.2 to 0.3 mph. After that initial leg stretch, I did the remaining 5 minute running periods with the same kinds of progression but started at 8 mph instead. This meant I was able to usually hit 9+ mph for a minute or 2 before I got to the walking period.
I could definitely feel that in the legs and cardiovascular wise but in the end it paid off. Not only did I push out that 10 miles in 76:47 (looks like my fastest 10 miles this year) but I walked off the treadmill feeling energized. Excellent! Mission accomplished.
That should help sustain motivation!
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