Thursday, June 7, 2012

Interval Running, Why I Have a Love/Hate Relationship

Interval Running:  a type of physical training that involves bursts of high-intensity work interspersed with periods of low-intensity work. The high-intensity periods are typically at or close to anaerobic exercise, while the recovery periods may involve either complete rest or activity of lower intensity.

I have a total LOVE HATE relationship with interval running. Why you ask? I set my Nike Boom to give me 50 seconds of an interval and 1 minute 20 seconds of a rest when I say rest, I don't mean I walk I mean I am still running at a pace of 6.5 mph. I only do my interval runs on the treadmill. I tried these outside once and by my last few intervals I was no longer sprinting, my body was so tired it was giving out on me. I repate this about 6 times, more if I have the time and can struggle through it. I run my interval at a pace of 9.5 to 10 mph. I am really giving it my all. I HATE these types of runs because I do them for 20 minutes to a half hour and I am wiped out I feel like I just ran 20 miles but in all reality I may have ran 2 to 3 miles. It really pumps your body up and gets your oxygen flowing, and that is why I LOVE these types of runs.

Interval runs have helped me run faster. When I first started running longer distances I was running at around 9.5 miles/minutes, but now I am running around 8.3 miles/minutes. Interval runs will really help you increase your speed. I challenge you to add in about one interval run a week.

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