Five Miles to Start the Year

A very slow five miles, but five nonetheless. The first four were walk/jog, averaging a 13 minute pace. The last mile was really, really slow at 3 mph, but I upped the incline to 5%, then 6%, and ended with 7%. I'm happy with this workout and hope to continue increasing the mileage over the next few weeks. With having to report back to work tomorrow, I'm worrying that I'll not follow through with the schedule I've set up for myself. I know I can't let myself become to inflexible, but at the same time, I truly want to up the intensity this year.

I did see this conversion chart the other day and thought it was great. I always walk/jog with a 1.5 % incline. It's helpful to know the incline does affect the speed. I've always been faster outside and didn't really know why. Now I know why; the incline I have the treadmill set at was actually helping me. I'm trying to use the incline even more now, changing things up a bit here and there to not only give myself a bit of a challenge, but to also see if incline work will transfer to faster times once I start running outside again.

So tomorrow will begin the real test for me--returning to work and trying to follow the schedule I've created. These last three weeks have been very restful. I'm excited to see how the next few months actually play out.

Comments

Natalia said…
I am a big treadmill fan, and it is a good tool for building speed and endurance with the inclines. Good job, your race pace will be awesome.
January 2, 2011 at 7:23 PM
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