I did a tempo workout on my treadmill today. It went well, and reaffirmed my belief that treadmill workouts are the key to improving my performance in running.

I did a five minute warm-up at 3.5 mph (which is a brisk walk).

Then I did 20 minutes at 7.5 mph (pace of 8 min/mile). That pace feels comfortably hard for me. It used to feel really hard. I did stop twice for about 30 seconds, only to drink some water. I didn’t really feel the need to stop and rest.

The entire 20 minutes, I tried to focus on what can I do to make this pace feel easier. When I just tried to relax and make it feel easier, I’d look at my HR monitor, and noticed my HR was 165 or less. When I tried to focus on certain things like posture, cadence, footstrike, I’d look at my HR monitor and notice that my HR was at 170+. I found that interesting, and figure there’s a relaxation factor there somewhere.

j0336864.gifThe tempo pace did feel harder during the final 5 minutes, probably due to fatigue. It was a mental challenge to keep up the pace, and I noticed my HR stayed up above 170.

The last 30 seconds, I punched the speed up to 8mph, then up to 9 for the final 15 seconds. Just for fun. If you want to call that fun – LOL!

I ended with a five minute cooldown, again at 3.5 mph.

HR Stats for just the 20 minute tempo portion: 168 average, 183 max.

Two treadmills rated best buys are:

Sole F80 Treadmill and Sole F85 Treadmill