I did my weekly interval session on the treadmill this morning. There are lots of good reasons I don't do this regularly. Primarily because it's easier, and that defeats the point of doing intervals. They're not meant to be easy after all. There's no wind to consider, no uneven ground or corners, and the treadmill encourages you to keep going providing some of the willpower for you. You can't bleed off speed when you get tired, you need to maintain pace or make a concious decision to slow it down. The other reason I don't like to run on the treadmill is I invariably find I'm heavier on my feet, I really feel the impact of treadmill running on my joints.
Sometimes though, I feel like I really benefit from doing treadmill interval sessions.
I can watch myself running. This was the main reason I took the interval session inside today. I noticed on a couple of photos from the parkrun at the weekend my arms were trailing just a little and my posture was not quite what it normally is. It wasn't terrible, but I don't want to get into bad habits. Running on the treadmill allows me to watch myself run as I get tired and focuses me on making sure my form is good. I ran on the treadmill to critique my running and remind me to focus on form when I'm getting tired. I see a lot of benefit in this.
I run faster and for longer. Because treadmill running is easier, I do my workouts faster to compensate for that, normally by around 10 s/mile. The treadmill may encourage me to keep going, but I've still got to actually run it, so it conditions my body to run that hard for longer.
Sometimes though, I feel like I really benefit from doing treadmill interval sessions.
I can watch myself running. This was the main reason I took the interval session inside today. I noticed on a couple of photos from the parkrun at the weekend my arms were trailing just a little and my posture was not quite what it normally is. It wasn't terrible, but I don't want to get into bad habits. Running on the treadmill allows me to watch myself run as I get tired and focuses me on making sure my form is good. I ran on the treadmill to critique my running and remind me to focus on form when I'm getting tired. I see a lot of benefit in this.
I run faster and for longer. Because treadmill running is easier, I do my workouts faster to compensate for that, normally by around 10 s/mile. The treadmill may encourage me to keep going, but I've still got to actually run it, so it conditions my body to run that hard for longer.
I listen to music and it helps me to distract me when I'm getting tired. When I get really tired, it annoys me and I take the headphones off. The only thing that helps when I'm towards the end of the last reps is reciting nursery rhymes or just words to my self in time to my running, but it helps to stave off that point by distracting me through the part of the workout that's merely uncomfortable rather than lung bursting out of chest painful.
I don't need to worry about pace. Again, once I start thinking about whether I'm slowing down I start to look at my watch, speed up, slow down, and focus too much on how long is left of the rep. It makes it drag and I get stressed by it. I'd be the first to admit there's a skill to running a constant pace which I sometimes lack and there's mileage to be had in practising that, but sometimes I think there's mileage to be had in just setting yourself a difficult but achievable target and then telling yourself you will run at the pace you've set until the treadmill slows down and tells you the interval is over. In terms purely of building fitness I feel this has to be effective, and I believe I've had good results from it in the past.
There is nothing to stop for. No roads to cross, no buggies, no groups of people walking side by side across the whole path, no extending dog leads, no kids on scooters looking over their shoulders. Short of running on the track there's no other place I can get this.
So, today's session was on the treadmill. I was pleased with how I maintained form. Awareness of what I wasn't happy with at the weekend helped me focus and I felt like my form was good by my standards. I did an unusual session that I haven't done before, more geared towards half and full marathon distances. The session was 10 lots of 4 minute intervals with 2 minute jogging recoveries. Clearly with 40 minutes of effort and moving recoveries it was not going to be at the pace I'd normally do 4 minute intervals. The plan was to start the session at the top end of tempo pace, with the last reps close to 5k pace. Given I was doing it on the treadmill I took 10 seconds a mile off the target paces I had set myself, and started at 6:40 minute mile pace, gradually working up to 6:15 minute mile pace for the last. I couldn't have come close to maintaining that pace on the last rep if I'd been running outside, I'm certainly not kidding myself about that, but I still did it and my heart rate and legs told me that I really was doing it, so surely my fitness has to benefit?
Next week I'll have the questionable enjoyment of being able to make it to the club's track session which I'm sure will be a horrible kick up the arse; the usual mental struggle to carry on when I get tired early on and convince myself I can't do the session will hit, and I need to learn to battle through that better. For this week, I think I've got the most I could out of that workout by doing it inside.
I don't need to worry about pace. Again, once I start thinking about whether I'm slowing down I start to look at my watch, speed up, slow down, and focus too much on how long is left of the rep. It makes it drag and I get stressed by it. I'd be the first to admit there's a skill to running a constant pace which I sometimes lack and there's mileage to be had in practising that, but sometimes I think there's mileage to be had in just setting yourself a difficult but achievable target and then telling yourself you will run at the pace you've set until the treadmill slows down and tells you the interval is over. In terms purely of building fitness I feel this has to be effective, and I believe I've had good results from it in the past.
There is nothing to stop for. No roads to cross, no buggies, no groups of people walking side by side across the whole path, no extending dog leads, no kids on scooters looking over their shoulders. Short of running on the track there's no other place I can get this.
So, today's session was on the treadmill. I was pleased with how I maintained form. Awareness of what I wasn't happy with at the weekend helped me focus and I felt like my form was good by my standards. I did an unusual session that I haven't done before, more geared towards half and full marathon distances. The session was 10 lots of 4 minute intervals with 2 minute jogging recoveries. Clearly with 40 minutes of effort and moving recoveries it was not going to be at the pace I'd normally do 4 minute intervals. The plan was to start the session at the top end of tempo pace, with the last reps close to 5k pace. Given I was doing it on the treadmill I took 10 seconds a mile off the target paces I had set myself, and started at 6:40 minute mile pace, gradually working up to 6:15 minute mile pace for the last. I couldn't have come close to maintaining that pace on the last rep if I'd been running outside, I'm certainly not kidding myself about that, but I still did it and my heart rate and legs told me that I really was doing it, so surely my fitness has to benefit?
Next week I'll have the questionable enjoyment of being able to make it to the club's track session which I'm sure will be a horrible kick up the arse; the usual mental struggle to carry on when I get tired early on and convince myself I can't do the session will hit, and I need to learn to battle through that better. For this week, I think I've got the most I could out of that workout by doing it inside.
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