How to make :30 minutes on the treadmill feel like :29

I am not a huge fan of running on the treadmill.  One hour can feel like two (three?) when you’re on the tread.

But it has it’s value.  Case in point: Thursday’s workout.

I woke up Monday with a stiff right knee.  I felt like a case of IT band tendonitis was taking hold.  All day I’d walk fine and then… a lightning bolt of pain shooting into my knee.

Monday AM I took an hour and put myself through a complete Z health joint mobilization routine and some yoga.  I focused a lot of energy on mobilizing my hips and knees and then directed my practice into some deep twists and hip openers.  After a thorough warm up (don’t stretch a cold muscle) I dug into my hips with crescent lunges, twisted triangles, and half and full pigeons.

The knee felt great.  I hopped onto the treadmill.  It was time to give the knee a running test.  I chose the treadmill bc if my knee acted up I could step off.  Run done.  No cold, frustrating walk home.

:30 minutes later I stepped off the treadmill; relieved.

That lasted another hour until, while teaching yoga of all places, the knee twinged again.  Twice.

Too much.  I took Tuesday off.  I did the same warm up routine and hoped for the best.

Weds back on for another treadmill session.  This time I was going to push myself and the knee so I broke out an old favorite.  A workout that I find myself doing mainly because I find the treadmill boring and it’s something to do.  Here it is for you to enjoy (or merely finish).  I burned 700 calories in just over :30 minutes.

I started by picking a number (pace) that was close to where I ‘d feel maxed out.  I know I can run a 5 minute mile (12 mph) but that would take some inspiration, so I settled for close to that.  I was going to top off at 5:27 pace (11 mph) on the treadmill.

I subtracted 3 to arrive at my starting pace.  8 mph.

Every minute for :30 I pushed the pace up by .1.

I created this workout because, as I stated above, running on the treadmill can be boring; time stands still.  This way I am distracted bc I have something to do every minute.

It also reminds me of one of my favorite scenes from ‘Without Limits’.

When I do this workout I always think back to Pre vs George Young.  ‘Wear him out.  Descending series.  Negative splits.’

So I start at 8.  Then ‘gradually, go a little faster than you think you’re going.  By the time he realizes what’s happening, he won’t have enough to hurt you.’

In my mind I’m Pre.  And for the first 10 minutes this run is a walk in the park.  I’m setting the pieces on my chess board.  Then, as I’m inching towards 9.0 and I can see I’m sweating through my jersey, I start to feel the consequence of each move, but the increase in pace has been so gradual I don’t feel particularly put out by the effort.  I’ve shifted gears smoothly and allowed my body time to adjust to every gear shift.  This is where self talk becomes important.  This time I just kept telling myself that I’ve been here before.  The treadmill can feel claustrophobic but that is all in the mind.  I focused on breath, I focused on form, I thought about my knee and how good it felt after the stretch and rest.  I built myself up.  ‘I can.’  ‘I will.’

Your body will follow two things: Your eyes and your attitude.  If you’re skiing and you look at the tree, sorry to say but that’s where you’re heading.  If you’re running and you’re beating yourself up, saying you’re not fast enough, not strong enough, then you’re right.

You know what you’re negative statements will be.  Script an answer and push through.

This week it felt just right.  The last ten minutes were a shift into sub 6 pace, a territory I haven’t been spending enough time in lately.   I left George Young in the dust.  I built myself up with tough talk about how easy it felt.

The gradual increase in pace put me into flow.  I finished the :30 without too much difficulty.  Average pace was 6:22.

I pushed this workout onto my Tempo run class on Friday but I added a 5 minute warm up and stretch.  10 people bravely took this on.  Some played it just right, for some it was a learning experience (they went out too fast) and for some I saw a break out in self confidence.  They pushed through in the last :10 and went even faster than they originally planned.

This workout is a great way to train for negative splits.  If you play it right you can experience that subtle transition from medium to fast (the body LOVES subtlety).  You’re so smooth on the approach that sometimes you feel like you can keep pushing, keep increasing, keep getting faster.

I hopped off the treadmill.  My knee felt fine.  The twinges gone.

And most importantly the time flew by.