intervals

I felt good today, although I didn't quite make my calorie goal. (That damn extra slice of cheese and the peanut butter! What can I say, I was craving comfort food).

But I did run. And I ran well. I ran for 30 minutes, and for 20 of those minutes I did 2:1 speed intervals: 2 minutes at a high speed and 1 minute recovery. All while on a .5 percent incline.

Pretty good!

I'm not really sore tonight. But the really amazing part? Those 30 minutes went by sooo fast.

A few weeks ago, running for 30 minutes dragged on and on. It felt like forever. But with this new interval workout, it wizzes by. I'm so focused on the two minutes of speed, and thankful for the 1 minute of recovery, that soon 20 minutes is done.

Which has made me decide to do intervals twice a week. On Tuesdays I will do speed, like today, and on Thursdays I will do hill intervals (a burst of incline coupled with a smaller burst of speed, and then a recovery period). And I'm going to try to stick with the 2:1 ratio.

And, based on everything I've read, this is a great training strategy. It makes you stronger and faster quicker, they say.

I'll be ready for that half-marathon yet!