Speedwork on the treadmill

I had to watch the kids last night so I couldn't make it to the SWRC speedwork session. I opted to do the planned workout on the treadmill instead. (It had been sitting neglected for too long!)

Workout:
1/2 mile warm-up (5mph / 12:00/mi)
1/4 mile hard (7.3mph / 8:13/mi)
2x1/2 mile hard-ish (7mph / 8:34/mi)
1/4 mile hard (7.3mph / 8:13/mi)
2x1 mile tempo (6.4mph / 9:22/mi)
~1/4 mile cooldown (5mph / 12:00/mi)

Total: 4.19mi, 40:00 min

Lenore said that she came home and it sounded like an elephant was running upstairs. I think at some point we'll need to move the treadmill into the basement to avoid this, but we might need to put carpet down there first.

Boring as it is, I found using the treadmill easier for the intervals than the track, probably because you don't get to set your pace, so you don't end up starting too fast, or worrying how far to push yourself. Hopefully it's good practice to help pace myself for actual road runs.

It also felt good to get a workout in; hadn't done anything since last Friday. Only 10 days left until the Chicago Tri! I still want to get a couple of brick workouts in, but I also want to make sure to take it easy next week to rest up those muscles. I wanted to bike this morning, but ended up waking up too late and the forecast calls for scattered thunderstorms.

Running past my bedtime

I have sometimes been lazy and skipped the recovery runs during the 10K training, but I figured it was really needed since my legs were pretty sore after Sunday's 7-miler. Nevertheless, the morning run with the dogs didn't happen since I woke up late, feeling lazy, and, as the last straw, my iPhone was out of charge. (I should get this poster framed!) I figured an evening run would work out OK, but I first had to get the twins to bed, finish taxes and take care of a few other chores. Before I knew it, it was after 10pm.

I finally got on the treadmill and set myself up for an easy 12 min/mi pace. My heart rate climbed quickly into the high 140's so I slowed things down to 12:30 and played around with various strides—long steps, quick turnover, and a rolling, nearly walking shuffle. My heart rate was relatively stable but I was sweating like crazy, so I decided to take my shirt off... and slid off the treadmill in the process. I had the safety key clipped to my shorts so the treadmill stopped as designed and I was a little jarred but not hurt. Yet another reminder of why I prefer running outside, but it's not really an option when I'm home alone with the twins.

I made it to 45 minutes, allowing myself to speed up just a tad and go out of my heart rate zone for the last couple of minutes. Was nearly falling over tired at the end, though I expect this was largely due to the late night rather than the exertion of the exercise.

Today is my rest day, which is good because a) my quads are still pretty tired, b) I only managed to get 5 hours of sleep, and c) I'm spending half the day on airplanes on my way to Seattle.  I'm writing this from 37816 feet up in the air, as a matter of fact.  I will be in Seattle until Saturday, my workout plan is:

Wednesday: speed work (following the same plan as last Friday: 4x800 5K pace with 400 rest in between)
Thursday: do some total immersion exercises in the hotel pool
Friday: 3–4 mile run with a friend, if that works out

The time change should make it easier for me to get early morning workouts in before starting the day's business. I just have to find some good routes where the hills won't kill me!