hittin' the treadmill.

for me, not running outside sucks. i absolutely love street runs and/or trail runs. one of my favorite routes near my house is about 5 miles on pavement (2.5 miles there & back) and about 3 on a trail (1.5 miles to the end of the trail & back). unfortunately for me, i live in a place where there are 4 seasons and daylight savings time. this time of year, the sun is out from about 7 am until about 4:30 pm. i am at work from 7:30 am until around 5 or 6 pm. i work at a school and then i coach cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track (depending on which season it is) so i am pretty much booked for all daylight hours. in this case, i have to hit the treadmill and/or elliptical. 

one of my favorite treadmill workouts is one i call the 3 minute loop:

i usually do a quick warm-up before i hop on the treadmill. i stretch, do some high knees, and do some butt kicks. once i get on the treadmill, it's straight to business.

• start out running at speed 7.0 (8:34 minute mile) continue for 3 minutes
• at 3 minutes, advance to speed 10.1 (6 minute mile) continue for 1 minute
• repeat for 4 miles 

if i am feeling tired and chicken out, i switch to a plain ole run at speed 7.0. whenever i do this exercise, i at least do the 3 minute loop for 2 miles.

i also sometimes just run. i run at speed 7.0 until i hit 3 miles. then i run for 7.5 for a half a mile and finish the mile at speed 8.0. if mid-run i am feeling good, i might increase my speed a little earlier. in turn, i end up finishing up my run a little faster. it all depends on when i increase. i normally never exceed about 9.5, except for during the 3 mile loop.

other days when i am just not feeling a long run because i've had a long day at work, i hit the elliptical for some cardio. i always, always, always, at least run 1 mile but some days i just do not have any more in me. on those sad days, i hop on the elliptical for 30 minutes at a resistance level of 15. i am usually going at about a 3.2 mile per hour pace when i go at that level. i feel the burn in my thighs like CRAZY, even at that very slow pace. i don't mind elliptical workouts, but i find them a lot more boring than a run. i also do not get the same satisfaction from finishing an elliptical workout that i do when i finish a nice long run.

i don't usually exceed about 7 miles on the treadmill. it kills my knees. if i really need to go for a long run, i hit the streets no matter what the weather. rain, snow, sleet, ice, heat. i've got the gear and i put it to use. 

what's the weather like where you are? what do you do when you have to take it indoors?