Last night I actually RAN for the first time in 25 years..
Granted I don't run very far. Or particularly fast.
But I am RUNNING on the treadmill.
Well, actually compared to other folks in the team training session we had last night I am doing a pretty slow jog, but to me it feels like running.
So we're on the treadmills and our task is to do interval training to try to increase our ability/capacity to run a mile 20% faster over the course of the 10 weeks of the Challenge. OK. Yeah. Right. So, personal trainer W gives me my "number"...my number being the high-intensity interval that I am supposed to run for a quarter of a mile after I've walked or jogged a low-intensity quarter mile interval. For a total of 8 intervals.
Let me do the math for you - that's 2 miles.
Eeek!
So...low-intensity interval for me is 3.9 mph (please note that this my normal high-intensity walk when I hop on the treadmill on my own) and I'm doing pretty well (please also note that I have already done 5 miles on the bike just before these intervals...) My breathing is good. Soon I can see the numbers creeping up to that .25 quarter mile mark.
Eek!
And at the quarter mile mark I bump up the speed to my assigned target number: 4.9 mph.
I've never gone this fast on a treadmill before. Ever. It feels crazy fast to me. There's no way for me to speed walk this so I start running (jogging...whatever) and my breathing immediately turns to huffing and puffing. Surprisingly, my gate doesn't feel nearly as awkward as I thought it would. I can't say that it feels natural, but I don't feel weird or klutzy or like I have lead weights in my feet (how I used to feel when asked to run.)
My legs actually feel like they have a little spring in them. Amazing.
Guess all of this working out I've been doing this year is actually paying off!
I'm supposed to run for a quarter mile, but by the time I hit .44 miles I feel completely out of breath, so I slow it back down to 3.9 m.p.h. Personal trainer A checks in with me a few times to see how I'm doing. He's supportive, but it seems to me that he's a little disappointed that I couldn't make the whole interval.
The gal on the treadmill next to me, D, is running at a faster pace than I am. She says she feels nauseous, but she keeps going and she finishes the entire quarter mile. Personal trainer A urges her on.
I don't actually manage to complete any of my high-intensity intervals. During the next one I manage to make it from .75 to .84 miles and the next is even shorter. Personal trainer A says to me, "You can just do a little bit each time and then finish with everyone else. This is really hard what we're asking you to do today."
I end up walking/jogging (mostly walking) a total of 1.8 miles.
Pretty disappointed that I couldn't do the full 2 miles and couldn't complete the intervals, but I find myself surprisingly determined to make a better showing the next time around.
So, my plan is to start trying to do intervals on the treadmill each time I hit the gym.
I don't today - FFC Day 13 - because I last evening was wearing not the best shoes for our training. As a result, my ankles feel a little floppy and sore today. However, I pull out some older, better shoes today and once I get some heel pads for them will put them back on and hit the treadmill again. I'm going to try to work myself up to being able to run a few quarter mile intervals without feeling like I am going to pass out.
Running may never be my "thing," but for once I don't want to give up at something physical just because I'm really, really bad at it.
Today's work out: 1 mile on the elliptical trainer to give my ankles a rest, 35 minutes of upper body lifting with free weights, 50 crunches, 30 bicycle crunches and lots of stretching. All in all, pretty satisfying.
Hope y'all are having a wonderful weekend. Let's be healthy!
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