Speed

Did my speed workout a little differently tonight. Instead of walking a quarter mile as fast as possible, I decided to walk as fast as possible for a set time.

Because I hovered around 3 minutes for a quarter mile last week, today I walked as fast as I could for 3 min then did a recovery walk for 2. There is a cul de sac across the street from my house which is pretty good for doing speed. After the sprint, the recovery walk takes me back to my house with enough time for a quick gulp of water before the next sprint.

Both methods have benefits. I like knowing that I’m walking a quarter mile faster each time. Yet, I also like knowing that as soon as my watch says 3 minutes, I can quit. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to really mark (or remember) where I stopped each time to see if I was able to walk farther.

My shin muscles worked pretty hard and my legs felt appropriately rubbery by the time I finished. And I probably should have spent more time cooling down and stretching afterward.
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It was nice and cool tonight! Perfect weather for walking. I wore the Chines racewalking shoes, which are great for being flexible and rolling my feet. They might be too light though. My heels were bothering me toward the end.

I did cough a little while walking, but I think it is OK. I was breathing deep and trying to clear out the last remnants of my cold. It should be totally gone any day now!

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Comments

August 5, 2009 at 3:21 am

I have found that I get the most gains when I add something new or reverse a workout. I think your body/muscles get used to the same work outs and do add a new one (no matter how odd it may seem) really gives them a shake up and I often surprise myself with how well it can go. I can bet you coughed a bit after pushing fast for 3 min splits. So long as they werent gasping for air coughing fits I am its a sign you did well. :0)



August 5, 2009 at 8:37 pm

I think you’re right. Since I added the weekly speed workout I’ve seen an improvement very quickly. It will be interesting to see if doing it different ways will help my speed even more.

I wasn’t gasping for air after the intervals, but I did have some productive coughing. In fact, though I’ve been coughing more today in general, I feel less wheezy and better overall.

It’s been a long time since I’ve had a cold this bad. I’m just not very patient at getting better. I much prefer not getting sick to begin with.



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