For the whatever number Tuesday in a row, I was at the indoor track before work for a speed workout. Hooray for me! The easy thing about Tuesdays is that I get to go into work a little later, so there is more than enough time for a run. I even woke up early this morning while the BOY snored away enjoying his first official day of spring break.
I was less than thrilled to see a layer of snow covering my car. I mean come on…last year around this time I wasn’t I hanging out in the backyard in short sleeves and sunglasses???
Last week, I shared a few of my favorite speed workouts with you. This morning I tried a new workout that I read about last night in Competitor Magazine. It consists of longer intervals so is really challenging and guaranteed to make you sweat!
I started this morning’s workout with a 5 minute warm up before beginning my Descending Tempos**. The purpose of this workout is to develop a runner’s anaerobic threshold, which allows you to run more efficiently at a faster pace. Exactly what I need for the PR’s I hope to achieve this year!
My hard running was fast but not a sprint and my recovery was faster than my warm up pace. I used my body as a guide since I don’t have a way of knowing my pace, and I was definitely bumping up against my threshold. After my last 30 second sprint, I needed a minute of walking and water to catch my breath before running for 5 more minutes at my jogging pace.
By the time I left the gym, the sun was attempting to peak out from behind the clouds. Hooray for speed work, and Hooray for sunshine. Although the sun didn’t stay out long, it was a welcome site!
Post run, I made a sunny smoothie of kale, carrot, and orange for the commute to work. For lunch, I had the fantastic Portobello and Eggplant Chili that I made yesterday. Although I don’t have a picture to share, I will tell you that this chili is thick, hearty, and spicy! You won’t miss the meat, I promise!
Here is the workout as written with my notes about today’s run below**
Descending Tempos
7 minutes hard running
3.5 minutes jogging recovery
6 minutes hard running
3 minutes jogging recovery
5 minutes hard running
2.5 minutes jogging recovery
4 minutes hard running
2 minutes jogging recovery
3 minutes hard running
1.5 minutes jogging recovery
2 minutes hard running
1 minute jogging recovery
1 minute hard running
30 seconds jogging recovery
**Per the magazines recommendation, I started at 5 minutes instead of 7 this morning. I jogged a 5 minute warm up, followed by descending tempos beginning at 5 minutes, and then added in another 30 seconds of hard running and 5 minutes of jogging for a total of a 35 minutes.
Happy Running!
Luv What You Do 
The descending tempo run looks like something I might attempt! Sometimes planned workouts like that get too bothersome for me, and I don’t follow along. I also prefer intervals to be stated in time rather than distance. It just seems more adaptable for me–inside, outside, it doesn’t matter. Thanks for posting!
Oh I totally agree on the time front. I can get miles figured out along the forest preserve trail but a quarter mile, forget about it : ) This is a really efficient workout and I thought it was easier to stay focused while I was checking out my time. Let me know if you give it a try!
Great workout!! I need to try this one!
Thanks! Let me know what you think!
Do you have other speed workouts that you use???
That looks like a fun workout! I just finished a book that confirmed that tempo runs are probably the most important type of speed workout for distance runners!
Interesting! I haven’t started my Hal Higdon book yet so thanks for reminding me to get on that. This is the most consistent I have been with interval training ever. I really enjoy it in spin class and have seen positive effects but am less motivated to do it while running. I’m hoping to be able to keep it up throughout the summer too!
Nice workout! I’m “training” for a 1/2 marathon so today was my fast/short run. Do you know how many miles this ended up being?
I don’t! I would say around 4 most likely but that track is so tiny I would get dizzy trying to count my miles. Hope you are enjoying your training!
I am totally going to have to try this–my speed has disappeared and I want it back!
I never had speed to begin with but I’m thinking this is the kind of run that will totally help!!! Plus it was fun which makes the time go by quickly. I’m eager to try it starting at 7 minutes!
Good luck with the 7! I’m going to take your initial approach and start at 5–and even then I might die. 😉
That sounds like an intense interval! I always like to challenge myself with hard routines every now and then to keep things spiced up. 🙂 And that snow looks cooollllld to run in…brrr! 😛
It was! I wore shorts to the gym and the older people were staring at me. Thanks for the comment! I think this is a great routine to keep things spicy and fun which us runners totally need.
I love the times when I wake up and make it somewhere early. It doesn’t happen often though!
I’m working on it. I’m hoping that the longer days will help me out!
I like that descending workout, I have been thinking about doing some type of HIIT training for my run tomorrow and this may be something fun to try. I like how the hard run gets shorter.
Yes…that is a bonus because each time you get to do a minute less. Let me know what you think of it. The more I read the more it seems that HIIT is the way to go for short runs to increase efficiency. I need to get better about doing them in the summer when all I want to do is long slow runs enjoying the sunshine and scenery!
I love kale in smoothies. So good. Great job on the new workout too.
thanks! I can’t wait until I can start getting the greens at the market this spring. They definitely make my smoothies more interested and taste great!
I could NOT drink a smoothie if it was cold enough for snow. I live in Southern California and still need to chase my morning smoothie with hot tea. That is quite an impressive commitment to keepin’ it healthy! Good for you!
Disclaimer: I’m a wimp 🙂
Ha ha! I didn’t drink any smoothies all winter until recently when I decided I was ready for spring and needed to bring on the fresh fruits and veggies : )
That sounds like an awesome workout! I’ve been doing my speed work outside when weather allows but not on a track because the one near me gets really slick and dangerous. It’s so annoying to keep looking at a watch to see when to switch paces!
Yes that sounds exactly like my outdoor path. It’s super dangerous on cold and wet days! I can’t wait for everything to melt!
Your gym looks like mine!! Is it a YMCA?
It’s the park district but small, old, and family like so just like the YMCA!
Nice tempo running! Looks like a great workout! And, that smoothie looks SO refreshing! Love the idea of adding citrus!
Yes! Especially this time of year when I am buying oranges by the pound : ) I’m hoping that the tempo training will really help me with my speed!
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