by Meghan Reynolds
Treadmill workouts are not my favorite way to get a speed workout in but if I’m going to do one, I want Jes Woods at the Mile High Run Club coaching me. We use to run together 7 years ago at lululemon. She was just starting to run long distances. It was so fun and rewarding to see her go from 2 miles to half marathons. Now, she’s running 100 miles races and kicking our asses for 45 minutes on a treadmill.
This class reminded me how great a speed workout can feel. We did a warm up followed by a few hill repeats and then the intervals started. We did 4x2 minutes with 60 second recovery, 3x90 seconds with 90 second recovery and then 2x60 seconds with 90 second recovery. I was spent after but felt so great to hit 6:30s - it's been awhile!
Remember, the recovery between each interval is key. Our general rule of thumb is this - anything 400 m (1 lap around the track) and above, you should be able to slowly jog after each interval; anything below, you can walk. Your goal during intervals is to hit the same speed/pace as the prior one - this trains your muscles to understand how to perform when they are tired and lactic acid builds up. I ran at 5 or 5.5 for the 2 min and 90 second recovery times. I walked to recovery during the 60 second sprints because the goal was all out exertion.
If you live in NYC and haven't checked out this class, go! It's a fun workout and you feel great after.
