Heading to Madness on a Conveyor Belt, Day 18

I missed my morning long run yet again, but this time I can at least blame it on sore legs and general post race blues. Once again, I had to substitute it with an afternoon session. With the current likelihood of extreme weather, the choice of location for this was always going to be the gym... which means the utterly mind numbing, soul destroying treadmill. This time, I have armed myself with a plan that will hopefully stave away the monotony.

The omens were certainly not good though. I really struggled to break free from my afternoon nap, usually a sign that the willpower is not in top form. Never mind, if nothing else, treadmill running will teach mental strength, a problem in a few of my recent races.

Day 18 (gym, treadmill)

12k (progression run, moderate) 52min

Short rest

11k (hilly run, moderate to hard) 50min

Shoes: Brooks Launch (newer)

Overall, I was quite satisfied. Although I didn't exactly hit my target of at least 1 hour for the first part, 52 mins is close enough. The hilly run consists of 800m at a slower pace at a minimal gradient (2%) before speeding up to another constant speed while alternating between 2%, 5% and 8%. The segments were either 1 mile (5%) or half a mile (2% and 8%). I got this workout from a site called runningplanet so there are more where that came from. The 8% parts were a bit of a killer, but I was glad I stuck to the end and even ran a bit extra.

I had to cut short my strength workout due to a lack of time (thanks to the post nap dilly-dallying) but I can't complain much today.