Treadmill Workouts

During one training cycle, a couple of years ago, I ran 12 miles on the treadmill.  I cursed every step of that run. That was the winter of 2009 and a massive blizzard/ice storm bombarded the entire state that I live in. My choices were to run in the 15 foot snow drifts and ice or hit the treadmill. Not doing the run was not an option. So, the treadmill it was. For 12 long miles.

While I don’t necessarily dislike the treadmill, I don’t love it either. I’m fine to do some workouts on them when they are short and sweet, usually nothing more than 3 miles. Speedwork in particular is great to do on the old ‘mill. However, if I have the option of hitting the actual road you can bet that’s where I’ll be.

With that said, during these tough summer months when the heat is just brutal, getting my runs in the treadmill in the lovely AC sounds much more appealing than melting away and slowly dying out on the pavement.

There are tons of good treadmill workouts out there to pick and choose from and I’ve compiled a small group that I think are solid.

The 5-4-3-2-1 Workout

This is a speed workout that gradually gets more challenging as it progresses. It is composed of two 15 minute sessions with the addition of a warm up at the beginning, a nice little break in the middle, and a short cool down. It definitely gets me out of breath but isn’t too terribly hard. It is a great, quick workout that leaves me feeling like I got a decent workout in without overdoing it. Here is an example of how it looks and as always, if it’s necessary change up the plan with speeds that work for you.

The 25 Minute  Interval Run 

*Courtesy of Carrots ‘N’ Cake

This workout incorporates running at a decent pace for a quarter of a mile, then taking a breather for .05 of a mile. If you choose to use these speeds, you will hit just over 2 miles. Short and to the point. Although it is short, a run like this teaches your body what it is like to run fast. I try to get a run in like this, whether it be on the treadmill or out on the road, each week so I don’t loose that speed.

The Hill Workout

While it may not be as authentic as running hills outside, it it better than nothing! This workout from fitsugar runs just under 40 minutes long with the highest incline being at 3.0. I bump up the incline and push it to around 4.0 or 5.0 because we all know there are some killer hills on many a race course. Gotta be prepared. Sometimes 3.0 just won’t cut it.

Happy Running!

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