Posts Tagged ‘treadmill’

One of the unexpected things to come out of doing the 100 push-ups program is how much more it is making me pay attention to my other workouts. I’ve admittedly been frustrated with myself for getting into a dull routine of things this summer, but now that I’ve put the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half behind me and moved on to something new, I feel more focused. Perhaps it’s a quality vs. quantity thing … or maybe it’s a quality AND quantity thing. Whatever it is, each workout feels like it has a meaning to it and I feel like making each workout different from the previous one. And I feel like writing more about each workout too. I feel like I’m holding myself more accountable when I do this.

So that leads me to last night. I wouldn’t exactly call it a speed workout, but in a roundabout way it was. I headed over to the gym, hopped on the treadmill and started off at a leisurely 10-minute mile pace - 6 mph. My goal for the workout was simple - run 2 miles and increase my speed by 0.1 mph each tenth of a mile. That meant slowly increasing my speed to 8 mph, a 7:30-minute mile pace. While this was a relatively short run, this was a high quality run. My main goal was to push myself and run faster, but do it in a comfortable way. A treadmill allows me to do such a thing, even if I really don’t like it. It was a good transition run to get used to the treadmill again and it was nice to have that steady increase.

As far as the quantity side of things went last night, I then got off the treadmill after a cool down of about a quarter mile and then got on the bike for an easy 5 mile ride.

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Tonight my focus once again turned to the 100 push-ups challenge. I did sets of 14, 19, 14, 14 and a max of 20, and sweated like I ran 5 miles. All in all it went pretty well. It is amazing to me to think that not even a month ago I could only do 15 push-ups — 15 that weren’t even that good — and tonight I did 81 total. I’m not one to pat myself on the back, but I love this program. I’ve also managed to get a few virtual friends on Twitter to do this too — I’ll have a blog entry on that soon. So … what’s your excuse to not do it?

Today is National Running Day … on a Wednesday? Even though I’m a runner, I feel that there are too many national days, although I was surprised to see this as a trending topic on Twitter today.

So, how did I celebrate? Well, about the time I was going to go running, a string of strong storms hit Richmond. I tried to wait it out, but the storms lingered. So I headed over to the gym and ran a whole 1.5 miles on the treadmill. I grew tired of the treadmill this winter and something isn’t feeling right on there now. I can’t quite pinpoint it, but I noticed this a few weeks ago. My form is different and I feel like I’m forcing my run. It just doesn’t feel good.

After my excuse for a run, I hopped off the treadmill and got in a couple of miles on an elliptical machine. This week I have discovered that I need to get my lungs back, so I’m not overly focused on running too much. Remembering how it feels to get my heart rate up is what’s important right now. So far, I’m on the right track.

This weekend’s conditions were horrible for running - low 40s for highs and steady rain. Normally I wouldn’t mind this too much, but the weather earlier in the week was suburb. I’m tired of this winter, especially these past two weeks that have seen record lows, record highs and nothing in between. I want spring and I want it now.

So instead of venturing outside this weekend for what I hoped to be a 10-mile run, I stuck to the gym two days in a row. I guess things weren’t completely bad - I got in 8.1 miles on the treadmill and tacked on 4 miles on the bike and 2 miles on the elliptical. Unlike a year ago at this time, I’m not worried about whether I’ve done enough for the Shamrock Half. I’ve done enough for it to be a good long run. I’ve mentioned enough in my previous posts that I’m not seeking a PR; I’m seeking a good rest of the year and this race will help set me up. If I get out there and a PR happens, I certainly won’t complain. I’ve had some good runs in the past couple of months, but I question my own mileage (even though it’s been more than a year ago, plus my cross training).

This week will consist of a few runs with my dogs and a day or two of cross training at the gym. Nothing too hard or long. I just plan to take it easy and make it to Virginia Beach without any troubles in these final days.

I work on the 5th floor of a 5-story building, but I’ve only taken the stairs once or twice. And that was because the elevator was out of service. Well today I started something I’ve been thinking about for a while — I took the stairs this morning and this evening. That’s 84 up and 84 down. Right now my goal is to do this stairs in the morning and the evening when I go home. I might add in the steps at my lunch break in a few weeks, but the important thing is that I’m making this change with the hopes of co-workers doing the same. I think of it as a bonus short quick crossing training to kick off the day.

Meanwhile, tonight at the gym the treadmill and I had words. And I lost the battle after 2.6 miles. It just wasn’t happening. It was one of those nights in which the treadmill was truly the dreadmill. I then got on the Arc for about 10 minutes and then did another 10 minutes on the bike. My hope going into the gym was to run 4 or 5 miles, but I think I thought about it too much. Tomorrow, though, is a different day.

I hate it when it’s cold enough to snow but it rains. And even though it’s right at 32 degrees, this rain isn’t cold enough to make driving a nightmare. I’d rather that be the case. There’s just a little bit of ice on the trees. But it is cold and annoying enough to skip the gym tonight and sit in and do nothing but complain that it’s not snowing. Instead of getting backed up on my DVR, I’ll be watching “American Idol” or “Biggest Loser” live tonight. Will someone please fall off the treadmill already??

I did, however, get in a great workout yesterday - a half-mile walk and 1.2 mile run with my dog; 3.1 miles on the runner elliptical; and 6.2 miles on the bike. I covered those 11 miles in just a little more than an hour’s time. I was a bit surprised today that my legs are tired … it’s a different tired than I’m used to with running. Tomorrow I plan to hit the treadmill for some speedwork and maybe a little bit of something else. I want to get in a 2-mile tempo run at an 8-minute mile or better pace, but I’ve never really tried that on the treadmill.

Lastly I want to give a quick shout-out to my friend and co-worker twice over Stephanie, who is training for the Monument Avenue 10k in March. You can find her blog here. She’s looking for readers and I think that her blog is definitely worth checking out.

The combination of cold weather and darkness continues to lead to treadmill running and this week I have found it to not be so bad. Yesterday I somehow did 5 miles on it and today I did 2.5 miles on it (plus 20 minutes on an elliptical and walk/jog with my dog). Yesterday I did speed work based on my iPod. One song fast (generally 7.5 mph or faster), one song slow (generally about 6.5 mph). It worked pretty well instead of trying to do specific intervals. I found myself not paying attention to the distance so much, which made the 5 miles OK.

Tonight I found myself quickly settling in comfortably between 7 and 7 mph with some tenth of a mile inclines. I started at 1 percent and worked my way up to 4 percent. I certainly wouldn’t call it a hill workout, but it was something different.

The treadmill has certainly helped me pick up the speed with my normal pace. Although outside running is rare, I can tell a big difference. In the short run with my dog tonight, I felt really good. I’m looking forward to this weekend to getting outside. The treadmill is boring, so the faster I run on it the faster I can get off and do something else.

Today I got in 4 miles on the new treadmill at the new gym. Both the gym and the run were great. The new treadmill felt a little smoother than the old ones. I initially was just going to do a couple of miles and then hit another piece of new equipment, but I found myself in a zone. I’ve learned that if you’re in a zone on the treadmill, it’s best to just stay on it. Hitting a zone on the ‘mill doesn’t happen often. As part of my run I did two intervals. One was a half mile at 7.5 mph for a quarter mile then a quarter at 8 mph. The second was 3/4 of a mile with increases every quarter of a mile at 7.5 mph, 8 mph and 8.5 mph. My rest times are generally a quarter of a mile at 6.5 mph.

When I left the gym I realized that I need to change up my routine to adjust to my life. While this gym is extremely convenient on my route home, I’m going to have to start coming home first and then working out later. It’s just an adjustment to make with having a baby at home. Conner’s bed time is typically around 7:30, so with cramming in dinner I don’t get to see much of him on nights I go to the gym right after work. Plus after giving myself a quick self tour of the new Gold’s, I realized that I’d like to get longer workouts in. So if I go to the gym around 7:30 or so at night, I won’t feel so rushed to get a workout in and go home. And, very likely, I’ll actually eat less at night doing this. Part of my issue now is I’m extremely hungry when I work out before dinner.

The new gym has a basketball court and I’d love to get back into playing a few times a month. It also has raquetball, which I’ve never played but wouldn’t mind getting into if I met anyone wanting to play. Plus I just want to do more. While running will continue to be the main focus of my fitness, I really enjoy doing all these other things. I don’t want to get crazy or anything … I just want to have time to do what I’m comfortable doing.

I’ll be honest - a week ago when I signed up for the Shamrock Half, I was really scared with how prepared I would be for the race. But with 10 weeks to go and almost one week of “official” training under my belt, I’m feeling very good with how ready I’ll be. Today I got in 5 miles of outside running and felt great. So as long as I continue to increase my long runs over the next several weeks and get in a couple of 10-mile (or longer) runs in March, I’ll be ready. Ten weeks is plenty of time for me to prepare … but at the same time there are no weeks in which I can slack off. This could very well be the most intense 10 weeks of training I’ve ever done.

Overall this week, I’ve ran almost 13 miles with another mile or two likely tomorrow with my dog. My runs at the gym on the treadmill have been good too. I can’t just get on there and run a steady pace — somehow all my runs on the treadmill turn into some sort of speedwork. One thing I have enjoyed doing is half-mile intervals. On Wednesday I did three as part of my 3.1 mile run. After a half mile warm-up, I bumped up the speed to 7.5 mph for a quarter mile, then bumped it up to 8 mph for the next quarter mile. For the second and third one, I did 8 mph and 8.5 mph.

On today’s run, I felt refreshed. By doing other things at the gym and literally not pounding the pavement, my legs feel fantastic. And speaking of “other” things, this week I got in more than 8 miles on the various machines at the gym and 3.4 miles on the bike. All this cross-training is going a long way with helping my running and I expect to continue at this pace.

As for my weigh-in the other day, I was at 191, down 1.8 pounds for the year. My ideal goal is 180. I’ve been there and stayed there … it’s just been a while. If I keep doing what I’m doing, I’ll get there eventually.

One great thing about going to a gym is that it is hard to get bored. Yes, running on a treadmill can put forever into perspective, but it’s easy to just hop off and do something else. Tonight I had every intention of running 4 miles, but after 3 I could take no more. Even though I was going at a pretty good pace, I couldn’t take not going anywhere anymore. So I hopped off and hit the Cybex Arc Trainer for 10 minutes.

The Arc Trainer may look similar to an elliptical, but the workout is extremely different. It certainly helped break up the routine of my favorite equipment despite not getting my usual reward of miles. For example, with the other elliptical-type machine I usually use I could probably get 1.5 miles in 10 minutes; with the Arc Trainer, it was just about a half mile. But it felt so much more rewarding.

All in all, this is a pretty good workout. In fact I’ve had a good week so far with two good runs, plus some workouts on the elliptical and bike. With my mind in full training mode, I feel like my workouts are worthwhile. After four months of not having anything on my mind from a racing standpoint, it’s nice to have something to focus on.

Tomorrow is weigh-in day and I promise to have a post soon to discuss my goals a little more in depth.

After the Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon in August, I was ready to just give up on running … hell, I was ready to not do anything for a while. I documented it pretty well that I was taking September as a rest month. In the end I did a little bit here and there and finished with 24.8 running miles, 20.8 walking miles and 19.9 miles on the bike. When October got here though, I said enough is enough, and I ended up having one of the best-feeling months I’ve had in a long time.

Joining Gold’s Gym has turned things around for me. In just a few short weeks I have figured out how to keep going without running, although running is still very important to me. In October, I still ran 53.6 miles, the fifth most this year. I walked 36.3 miles, the second most this year. And thanks to the exercise bike, I hit 49.1 biking miles. That bike is really giving me a burning sensation in my legs that I haven’t felt in a long time. I also put in 6.7 miles on the elliptical machine. It’s worth noting too, that I ran my first 5k in more than a year.

All told, I had 145.7 miles of exercising for the month, just shy of what I did in August (107.4 running miles, 32.8 walking and 8.2 on the bike). As I mentioned the other day, I passed 1,000 exercising miles for the year. As I head into the final two months of the year, I’m at 1,012.4 miles (not counting today) — 576 running; 255.7 walking; 174 biking; and 6.7 on the elliptical.

Today, for the second Saturday in a row, I did a run-bike-run workout doing 2.1-5-1.1 Just like last week, the transition from the bike to running felt weird, but it didn’t seem to last long. This week I have done three run-bike workouts, and I’m feeling pretty comfortable with that transition. It’s the second transition that I need to start working on.

As November begins, I am not setting goals — I do have a baby on the way you know. I’m still hoping to do the Ntelos 8k in a couple of weeks, but the commitment has to wait. I’ll do as much as I can when I have the time to do it.