When I’m running, I’m running the trail, in search for an amazing view. Or you can find me running my city’s bridges and streets, looping around the monuments.

I’m rarely on the track, and I’m never on the treadmill.

When it comes to the treadmill, it makes me cringe. I don’t even like seeing pictures of people running on them, on social media. 

The only time, you’ll ever catch me on a treadmill is if I’m taking a month off of running to focus on building muscle. During that phase, I may use a treadmill to do a HIIT session. But other than that, you’ll never see me running on one. 

However, all of this long distance running, all of this marathon training, (where my focus is currently on pacing, and endurance), has actually made me crave some speed. 

So I went to the track today, and because running more track workouts is a goal of mine, I plan to be there at least once a week. 

TRACK WORKOUT

There are a couple things I love about the track… 

One – the vibe: I know I’m there to run fast, and get some speed work done. There are a lot of other great runners with the same exact intentions, which helps motivate me.

Two- I can run there safely at anytime. This is a place I can get a run or workout in even after the sun sets. There is alway people there and the lights are always on at night. 

I love being outside, and I find the most success with my workouts when I use minimal equipment. I am old school when it comes to my workouts, I really don’t need a fancy workout class to see results. 

The Workout – Mile Repeats

Today, I did mile repeats. Mile repeats is exactly that. I ran 1 mile as fast as I could, and then did a half mile recovery. Then I repeated this 3 times. 

It is suggested for marathon training to actually run 5x (1 mile sprint, 1/2 mile recover.) But this was the first time I’ve been to the track in a while, for speed work, so I stuck with the lower mileage drill. I plan on building up to doing it 5x. 

For more information on Mile Repeats. Check out this video by Bart Yasso. 

I highly suggest getting to the TRACK. However, if a track is not available, you can do this drill outside in your neighborhood or trail. Run a mile as fast as you can, run a half mile recovery. Repeat. 

And although, I personally hate the idea, you can do this drill on the treadmill. Just remember that completing this drill on the treadmill is not quite equivalent to an outdoor drill, and it is not an accurate measurement of your speed. Because of the momentum of the moving treadmill, it actually makes this drill easier and makes you run faster.

So if you want to get the most out of this drill, hit up your local track.

How I did…

When I first hit the track, I felt a little out of my element. I wondered, “Am I going to feel like a hamster on a wheel?” 

But once I started running, I felt good. 

I need a better way to record, but below are my average splits. 

Mile 1 : 8:20 min/mile

Mile 2: 7:33 min/mile

Mile 3: 7:44 min/mile

Mile 4: not recorded because my phone died. 

Overall it was a great workout, and something that will only enhance my marathon training. 

Do you do track workouts?