As the beautiful weather that has dominated our summer comes to end, many runners will be moving their workouts indoors to gyms and home gyms. This can be incredibly boring/daunting to some of us, but also an opportunity for some great treadmill workouts that allow you to monitor your pace with ease.
Before getting on the treadmill, make sure to adjust the incline of the machine to 1-3% grade. Doing this will account for the grip and flatness of the treadmill. Running outside will include natural hills, which treadmills don’t have. The treadmill also grips to your feet, so you don’t fall off, making it easier to run. Now for a few workouts that I love to do on the treadmill:
My personal favorite, but also very tough: Ladder Step-Down
First you need to figure out what your paces for a Marathon and 5k race are. Don’t worry if you haven’t run either, you can just either make something up based on your current running or use this —> calculator. Once you find out your total race times for each race, figure out the pace per mile for each (done by dividing the total distance by your time in minutes – 5k =3.1 miles, marathon= 26.2 miles) Next figure out a “recovery pace” time. You will use this speed in between each speed change. Pick a speed that is about 45 seconds or more slower than your marathon pace. Once you get these numbers you are ready to do this workout.
Start off by running for 7 minutes @ marathon pace
3:30 @ recovery pace (each recovery run will be half the previous speed run)
6 minutes @ a speed about 30 seconds per mile faster than the 7 minute run (ex: going from speed 10 to 9.5 on the treadmill)
3 minutes @ recovery pace
5 minutes @ 30 seconds per mile faster than the 6 minute run
2:30 @ recovery pace
4 minutes @ 30 seconds per mile faster than the 5 minute run
2 minutes @ recovery pace
3 minutes @ 30 seconds per mile faster than the 4 minute run
1:30 @ recovery pace
2 minutes @ 30 seconds per mile faster than the 3 minute run
1 minute @ recovery pace
1 minute @ 5k speed (this will be the fastest you have run so far)
0:30 @ recovery pace
This workout can be very tough and demanding, so don’t be afraid to back out if you can’t handle it at first. Another workout that can be easily done on the treadmill are hill repeats. Do 1 minute runs @ 4% incline, with 2 minute slow jogs in between. Build up to 10 repeats @ 6% incline.
RACES THIS WEEKEND
There are plenty of great races this weekend, including the Wright-Patterson Air Force Marathon on Saturday! Make sure to come out and support me and the thousands of others running! I will be running the half marathon, and will be detailing my race experience!
Here is a list of other events:
Saturday September 18th
Northridge 5K Road Race, Springfield, Ohio 9 AM. Hosted by the Vineyard Church of Northridge Information: 937-869-3714 Register Here
Distance 4 Dreams 5K, University of Dayton Register Here
Dash and Dine 5K, 5 PM, Riverscape, Dayton, Ohio. Taste of the Miami Valley with live music. Register Here
Mandy’s Sunshine 5K, Greenville, Ohio Register Here
