I had a need to go to the gym and do some heavy cardio work simply to burn some calories. I'm still using the elliptical because my mileage really isn't long enough yet to burn off the calories that I need to burn off. I can pop off 800 plus calories on an elliptical, whereas my 3 mile runs are only burning about 400 calories. So I spent 20 minutes on the elliptical (400 calories), and decided to do some intervals on the treadmill.
I started out on the treadmill at 6 mph for a minute (I was already plenty warm from the elliptical workout), then brought it up to 7.5 mph for one minute. Then back down to 6 for 3 minutes, then continued to alternate - 7.5 mph for one minute, 6 mph for 3 minutes. I did this for 30 minutes. This seemed to work out quite well - my heart rate would run up to 190 right at the end of the 1 minute sprint portion, then come back down to 165 or so during the slower run portion. I will say that during the last couple of intervals, I brought the speed down to 3.5 mph (walking pace) because the intensity was just too high for me.
I think interval training is working somewhat, because my subsequent runs are getting a little easier and quite a bit smoother. I'm able to get into my rhythm sooner. My trainer, however, does not believe that the interval training will be beneficial at this time; I should continue running and building endurance. I'll do some more research and see what I come up with.
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