I've started really running again. And when I say REALLY running, I'm referring to the fact that I've entered into some races and actually been competitive. I did a 5k in July with my training group at the gym (IAP - Integrated Athletic Performance). It was the Shaneanigans 5k in Woodbury and I managed to pull out a win despite the hills, heat, and a rather slow time. And then, since I was feeling a little more confident, realizing that my runner self hadn't totally abandoned my body, I signed up for a half marathon at the end of September. My time was atrocious, but I finished and if it taught me anything, I want to get stronger.
First, IAP has really forced me to accept the simple fact that runners NEED to do strength work. You can only get away without doing it for so long. Being resistant to strength work really caused problems for me throughout college. I've been in their program for about 7 months now and while I'm not lifting anything seriously heavy, I've noticed that I don't need as many serious speed sessions. True, a few are helpful for turnover sake. But I ran the July 5k with no speed work and only running 3-4 miles a day for 3 days a week. That's MINIMAL for me. I was doing 70 mile weeks, each run at 7:00 pace or faster and if you add in the two speed workouts a week and race every other week, you have a recipe for burnout. I think I handled it for as long as I did because I love the sport and because I was young. But a body can only take so much.
So. Onto my post topic. The treadmill.
Winter is approaching rather quickly. I'm not mad. I love winter. I even purchased a headlamp for my winter running jaunts after work. But, I don't enjoy sliding down icing roads into oncoming traffic. So treadmills do have a place in the life of New England runners.
Treadmills are NOT fantastic on your knees. I've never had great knees and my left one is particularly unhappy with my long miles. So I try to make sure if it's not horrible out, I'm outside on the roads. This week was very rainy and cold. Lots of wet leaves littering the pavement.
I was pretty unhappy by Wednesday night and decided that to stay on schedule for some upcoming late fall/winter races, a treadmill workout would have to work.
Let me just say treadmills are GREAT to learn consistency and pacing (to a degree). They lock you into a pace and you just go. There's a lot of debate about if you're over 7:30 pace if you bump up the incline to 1% to mimic being outside. I don't think it makes THAT much of a difference. So I just leave it alone. To each their own, though.
My favorite treadmill workouts tend to be intervals and tempo runs. The past couple weeks have been rainy on my speed days so I hit the treadmill. Last night happened to be a tempo. I do a 2 mile warm-up. Take a short break and stretch. Then it's tempo time. I usually do an accelerator style. I start at 6:27 pace and bump down each mile or half mile, going by how I feel. I finished this 5k tempo at 6:15 pace. The plus of the treadmill, I wasn't totally feeling this workout, but being on the treadmill with my head phones on and zoning out definitely helped. Not to mention I got a little confidence boost by the end of completing something that is a little harder than my every day runs.
Not everyone enjoys the treadmill. I tend to be able to zone out and go along with the monotony of it. Plus I manage to find some excellent music before really hard workouts (I recommend Slow Acid by Calvin Harris or Animals by Maroon 5). So do what works for you! That might be shorter tempos or shorter interval sets.
Treadmills are also great for intervals. The treadmills at World Gym actually have 400 meter tracks on the display, which I love. So doing 800m, 1000m, or 1600m repeats are pretty easy. Getting through them is another matter. Some trainers advise their runners to do hill intervals on the treadmill too, by bumping the incline between 5-10% and doing either 200m or 400m repeats.
Runners World has a great article about how to run on the treadmill like a pro. It definitely gave me some ammunition for wanting to schedule in some treadmill work this winter.
And remember, always listen to your body. Some days, the legs just don't have it :) Like after squats. Or RDLs. I'm still learning how to adjust and let my body tell me how to train without overdoing it. Once a runner, always a runner. Happy Running! :)
A link to the Runner's World Treadmill article:
http://www.runnersworld.com/workouts/how-real-runners-train-treadmills?page=single
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