Quick Treadmill Drill to Improve Speed
Hey everyone! It's been a little while since I've shared a post on here, but with the first semester of the MBA program under my belt, I've got a little more time now to share some tips, thoughts, recipes, etc.
I've officially started training for the Austin Half Marathon coming up in February, so that means adding more running to my normal workout schedule. I try to give myself time off from running between yearly races so that when it's time to get started, I'm actually feeling up for it. That's one tip I've noticed has helped me gain some running motivation over the years. I'm much more likely to want to start running when I haven't been doing it constantly for a while. I'm the type of person that has to switch up what I'm doing workout-wise every couple months if not more often, or else that boredom really starts to kick in. I'll be writing some details on what the switch-up looks like in another post over my break because I think it's super important to understand that there's really not just ONE method that you have to rely on forever. There's so much to gain from trying new things, but I'll save it for another blog.
To get back to my half marathon training...
I had high hopes back when I decided to run another race that I'd be following a strict schedule I found on running forums that matched the pace I'm targeting, but it didn't take long to realize that that is just not for me. At this point in my life at least. So instead, I plan for at least one long run a week outdoors - if I can do more than one, all the better. The rest of the week, I make sure I do drills on the treadmill to really push my pace. I thought I'd share some on here for anyone that's looking for something creative to try on the treadmill. I know how boring it can be!
Breaking it down by the minutes seems to help me.. maybe it's the engineer in me that likes to do the math while I'm running, but it gets me through!
The paces I'm sharing below are what I'm using for a goal of a sub 1:40 half marathon. Adjust the mph to whatever is comfortable running pace for you.
Quick Treadmill Workout:
*Set the treadmill incline to 1.0 to resemble a flat road.
Set 1: 10 mins
- 6 min @ 7.5 mph
- 2 min @ 8.0 mph
- 2 min @ 8.5 mph
Set 2: 10 mins
- 4 min @ 8.0 mph
- 4 min @ 8.5 mph
- 2 min @ 8.7 mph
Set 3: 10 mins
- 2 min @ 7.5 mph
- 2 min @ 7.5 mph + incline @ 2.0
- 2 min @ 8.0 mph
- (drop incline back to 1) 1 min @ 8.5 mph
- 1 min @ 9.0 mph
- 1 min @ 9.5 mph
- 1 min @ 9.0 mph
Cool-down: Drop the speed to 5.0 mph and jog it out for a minute, then gradually drop the speed to 3.5 or a brisk walking pace to let the heart rate come down. Stretch and drink lots of water!
More to come!
xo Erin