AM: 5.1 miles with the group.
PM: 6ish miles total. I did a treadmill workout- one I've been thinking about for a long time.My goal was simply to put the incline up, set the treadmill to 12.0mph- the max for the local treadmills, and then survive a 5k. I was doing a workout at a gym where the group basically runs 23:00 minutes "for distance," so I used that as a motivation to not only knock out a goal, but see where I ended up.
Splits: 5:00, 5:00, 5:00, (finish) 0:32, recovery jog, 5:00
I think I did more than survive today. I felt awesome rolling through mile one at 5:00. Then by mile two I was through at 10:00 and I knew I had it for sure. The question was only one of whether I would push it and see how far I could take it. At mile three I was through at 15:00 and decided I'd hold the pace through the 5k and then to 3.2 just to be confident I nailed it since it takes a couple seconds for the tread to warm up. I got through the 5k at 15:32 and immediately felt a sense of elation! I didn't suffer. I didn't have to reach too deep. I didn't have to "go dark" or survive. I could have absolutely sprinted harder at the end if the treadmill had a higher setting. What a cool feeling! I felt like I had defeated a video game/machine. I added another 1.3 during the workout before the 23 minutes was up and then finished with a bunch of striders to get to 5 hard miles.
Treadmill 5k in 15:32! I know they say treadmills are easier physically even with the incline, but heck, I'd take running outside any day over the mental fortitude needed to go so hard on the treadmill when you're just staring at yourself and the clock in front of you.
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