Today's Workout:
Ran 6.3 miles
Time: 58 minutes, 39 seconds
New Year's Eve was sunny and 40 degrees out. A great day for a run outside. I decided to wear a stopwatch and check my speed. Amazingly, I shaved over six minutes off my time for 6+ miles. I was shocked. For years, I've run a ten minute mile. Since I've hit 50, I've gotten even slower (if you can imagine that). So what's happened?
Back in November (the 19th), I blogged about a treadmill workout I had started doing. I walk for 2 minutes and run for 4 minutes (at a faster than normal pace) and repeat it 10 times for a total of 60 minutes. My pace when I do this is 7.3 mph or just over 8 minute miles. I can maintain that pace because I know it's for only 4 minutes. I do this workout about once a week. I thought it might help me increase my speed, but I didn't think it would make that big of a difference. Surprise!
I'm going to keep it up and see how I do this summer. It's one thing to do it when it's cool outside. Heat and humidity are another animal.
Of course, it could be an illusion. My watch batteries could be low, making the stopwatch slow. I should probably check that out.
They say you have to run faster to run faster... and your "fartleks" are just the key!!
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