I made my triumphant return to the treadmill last week.
I haven’t even tried to run on the treadmill since early November, when I angrily jumped off after a mile and vowed to never go near one again. (No, I’m not dramatic, what makes you think that?) I’ve never been one to hate the treadmill. I actually really enjoy it for speedwork and when I want help with pacing (like on a tempo run). As long as I bump up the incline I feel pretty good about it.
So last week, on a day when I dragged myself to the gym at 8pm after eating an embarrassing amount of cheese and candy corn (dinner of champions), I fell back in love (lust?) with the treadmill. I found a progression run of sorts on Iowa Girl Eats (she has an amazing list of treadmill workouts) and got to work. I tweaked it a bit and added some time and speed as I went along and let me tell you…it was JUST what I needed.
Dreaming of this…
After a FREEZING cold run in Iowa (negative temperatures people!!) and a couple other miserable outdoor runs in NJ, I needed a sweat-filled, fast, speed workout. I couldn’t risk another frustrating run, cut short after being bombarded by negative thoughts. Call me weak…but I needed something that worked.
Typical wintery scene in Iowa. Woohoo.
I pushed play on my trusty Philly playlist and cued my detailed daydreams of the Ironman finish line. That’s how I get through the monotony of a treadmill run…daydreaming. Let me tell you…it works! Daydreaming to a soundtrack of super motivating pump-up music will certainly do the trick.
Here’s how it went down:
Simple enough, right? Feel free to change the speed to what fits you! Format is 5-4-3-2-1 minute intervals repeated twice. Solid run for when you get out of work late and don’t have as much time. Which is typically the situation I’m in.
How do you feel about the treadmill? Do you like progression runs?
ah these are the hardest but best kinds of runs
I don’t normally like treadmills, but they’re great for workouts like this where you can really control your speed and force a certain effort level (or risk falling off!). I haven’t tried a progression run really, but I have done intervals that increase in speed… so I guess I have? And I like them!
I used to do a similar workout to that although I bumped up the paces differently. It works pretty well… I also think I used 4-3-2-1 instead of 5-4-3-2-1. Anytime I’m on the treadmill I usually do some sort of workout and not just run at a steady speed though, that’s too boring haha. Glad you got a solid run in!
I love this! I pinned it so that I can use it. I may need it for a rainy day I’d could be stuck in on the dreadmill too!
I love treadmill workouts like that — keeps thing exciting!