After my abismal attempt at 7 miles of speedwork last Wednesday (- I only managed 2.5 miles before stopping the treadmill), I thought I would try a different approach. 

Here was the plan before last nights run:

1. Run outside, and not on the dreamill. It was meant to be pouring (cold and dark of course) but it’s got to be better than the dreadmill.
2. Try shorter intervals (shorter than 1 mile) and warm up and cool down adequately.
   Warm up 15 mins, then do 1 minute intervals:
   1 minute fast, 1 minute jog recovery 15 times, then cool down 10-15 mins.

Here’s the route I planned:

The weather was pretty crappy all day, and I had a feeling I’d be trying to get out of this run. I knew I should have run straight from work, but I didn’t and ended up fighting with myself for about an hour before finally tossing a coin (heads – go for a run came up) so I went for my planned run.  (I kind of had to go for a run then anyway, as the next option was to run on Friday morning where the slush would no doubt be ice by 630am!).

I got in from work around 17:15, chatted for a bit, read a bit of my newly delivered Runners World magazine, chomped down on a mars bar (to help me work, rest and play), attempted to get changed into my running gear. 

Tights AND shorts, two buffs, and three layers on top...;-)

So, with the help of the coin toss (and the mars bar) I managed to get my ass out the door by just before half six. I wore plenty of layers as I was pretty sure it would be cold. And it was. Cold, with slush on the ground, but at least the rain and snow had stopped. 

As soon as I got out and started running I was glad the run had won the coin toss. 🙂 I must remember that next time I’m doubting if I want to go out for a run or not.

The intervals worked out really well.  At some points I couldn’t push it as much as I wanted because of the slush underground, or things/traffic/people getting in my way, but I think I did ok.  It was a hard workout, but a good way to mix things up a bit and get me working harder and running faster.

On the final set of intervals, (backed up by the slight downhill I knew I was going down… 😉 ) I decided I wouldn’t take the jog recovery and would try and get my fastest minute interval – and did. 😀

Here’s the summary anyway:

Here’s the detail:

And here’s the map and elevation:

Run: 7.45M Speedwork: 15 min warm up, 15 x 1:1, 13 min cool down. 58:03, Pace: 7:48, Calories: 536.
Ave HR: 155 (82%), Max HR: 172 (91%), Garmin Training Effect: 4.4