One more running post:
Ran at the gym tonight. Wanted to do a speed workout, so, after poking around the blogs and Runner’s World, came up with this one, that I thought would be OK for a treadmill:
Warmup (1 mile easy), then do one set of 4:00 at 5K pace followed by 2:00 of active recovery (jogging or slow run, not walking). Repeat at least 4 times (the suggestion was 4-6 times; I figured for my first speed workout in several weeks I’d aim for 4 sets). My best 5K pace was 9:27, but, because of the treadmill settings, I did them at 9:22 pace. For the recovery I set it around 11:06.
Just because I wanted to keep the times in even minute increments, instead of a mile warmup, I did 10:00 even, then started my sets. By the end of the second set, I was sweating even more than usual, but still not out of breath. I did all 4 sets and took a quick stop for water, then finished my 2:00 of recovery, then did a nice easy jog of a mile to finish, then cooled down with a quarter mile of walking.
Total running miles were 4.35, giving me 12.1 for the week so far.
Next week, if I do this workout again, I’ll aim for 5 sets total. Or I could do 4 sets at a faster pace, like around 9:00. Choices…
Tomorrow is a rest day, then Saturday I’ll do my long run for the week, 7.5 miles, for a total of 19.6. Next week I am aiming for over 20 miles, which I will probably do by extending the long run another mile.