Confessions of a Year Round Runner

Happy Tuesday!

I have running for over 25 years (that is a scary number) and have been running all through the year.  In the beginning, I ran rain or shine, in snow, sleet, freezing rain and sub-zero temperatures.  My goodness, I could be a postal worker!  I wore my "I can run in anything" as a badge of honour.  I loudly pronounced to anyone that would listen, "I would never run inside. . . that is not really running."  As my body started to deteriorate (it happens to us all), my high and mighty thinking started to change.

I am now a die hard treadmill runner.  I love it!  That is my confession.  If the weather turns, even a little, I am inside on my treadmill.  It didn't help that my husband bought me one for Christmas a few years ago.  I had a flat screen TV installed and now I spend almost every morning "in the bunker".  I set up my bike on a wind trainer right beside and now I have no excuses to miss a workout.  Last week, I shared my favourite indoor cycling session so this week, you get one of my favs on the treadmill.

Before we get to the details a few comments about treadmill training:

1.  Invest in a Heartrate monitor:  This is the best measure of exertion.  An important piece of data is your target heart rate zone:  Start with your maximum heart rate = 220 - age.  This is a good estimate but it is still an estimate!  From here you can figure out 75% of max (as an example)

2.  Set your treadmill with some incline:  I like 1 to 1.5% incline as this better simulates outdoor running.  I remember when I first started doing this, it felt soooo hard but I did adapt after about 3 weeks.

3.  Make sure the room is well ventilated:  Even though I call my workout room "the bunker", I usually have a fan running to keep the temperature down and the environment pleasant.


Let's get to it!!!


WARM UP  10 minutes easy (HR 60% of max)

MAIN SET  5 x 5 minutes as [1 minute sprint (85% - 90% of max) with 4 minutes recovery] For the recovery, walk for 1 minute and then easy run for 3 minutes.  The important part is to allow your heart to recover and be below 70% of your max. Also, keep good form when sprinting. . . high knees and relaxed shoulders.

COOL DOWN  10 minutes easy (HR 60% of max)

This is similar to last week's bike session in that you can add as many sets of 5 minutes you want.  This is a 45 minute workout so it is easily paired with a swim or a ride.

Enjoy and send me your feedback on this session :)