Now this is an interval run!

Inside again today. I usually don't run on Wednesday since it is a P90X muscle day, but today I decided to revisit the 45-minute Walk/Run Interval program on my treadmill. Normally, I'd do a 90-minute walk before P90X, but I had an idea...

I don't really like doing speed work. Not because I don't like to run fast, but because I don't like to slow down. I'd rather just do a fast 4-mile run, than to alternate between fast and slow. But I do know that intervals are very important and are the key to becoming a faster runner.

Today, I took the 45-minute Walk/Run Interval program and broke it down into smaller pieces. Although the program itself is a preset, and has allotted maxes and mins, while the program is in gear, you can change the settings.

This is the way I remember it. It starts with a 2:30 minute warm up at whatever speed you program for the "walk" ( I put in 4.2 mph) with a 1% incline for a minute, then a 3.0% incline for the remainder. Then you start a 5 minute walk at the same speed but at a level of that which you set the program. Since I set the program for level 8, it means that first 5-minute walk is at a 8.0% incline. After that, it sets you up for a 5-minute run. The program will only allow that run to be 7 mph at the most. So, once I was there, I ran 7.0 for the first minute, and manually upped it 0.5 mph every minute thereafter.

Then the program brings you back down to a walk for 5 minutes at a 2.5% incline, then another walk at a 4% incline. Then you do the 5-minute run again. It repeats one more time, ending on the lower incline walk.

So, here are how my intervals played out:
2:30 Warm up at 1-3%
5-minute walk at 8%
1-minute run at 7.0mph and 1.5%
1-minute run at 7.5mph and 1.5%
1-minute run at 8.0mph and 1.5%
1-minute run at 8.5mph and 1.5%
1-minute run at 9.0mph and 1.5%
5-minute walk at 4%
5-minute walk at 8%

1-minute run at 7.0mph and 1.5%
1-minute run at 7.5mph and 1.5%
1-minute run at 8.0mph and 1.5%
1-minute run at 8.5mph and 1.5%
1-minute run at 9.0mph and 1.5%
5-minute walk at 4%
5-minute walk at 8%

1-minute run at 7.0mph and 1.5%
1-minute run at 7.5mph and 1.5%
1-minute run at 8.0mph and 1.5%
1-minute run at 8.5mph and 1.5%
1-minute run at 9.0mph and 1.5%
5-minute walk at 4%
Cool Down

I ended up covering 4.17 miles. And a 9 mph run translates to a 6:40 min/mile pace. I had no trouble running any of those paces for 1-minute at a time, yet when the program was finished, I felt like I had really accomplished something despite the fact I had only covered 4 miles. So, now I get it. This will be a fun program to play with on those days that I'm stuck inside this winter.

P90X Shoulders and Arms followed the treadmill, so it was an active day. Tomorrow is my long run day, typically. There are some roads out here looking pretty clear and if the weather holds, I may try to do something outdoors.