Sweat-a-thon!

I have this running route that I like to do on Saturdays.  It is five miles, really hilly, and kicks my butt every time. Plus, its reallllly humid these days so its really just a miserable run. But I do it anyway because I like being miserable.

But one thing I do when I am not able to complete a run is to switch to intervals: run all-out for a sprint, then walk or jog.  Sprint/walk/sprint/walk all the way home.  I did this last weekend, partly for the increased cardio and partly to get rid of a bee that was intent on following me home. Let me tell you, that was one determined bee.

As I randomly intervaled my way home I thought about all of those Couch to 5k podcasts out there and wondered if there was one for intervals.  Well of course there was!  I downloaded this high-intensity interval training podcast for the treadmill by Skip Orem at GetFitPod (okay my husband did it for me because I couldn't figure it out) and tried it out this morning.

It was great!  It was HARD!  Because I hate surprises, I listened to it on the way to the gym so I wouldn't waste my cardio time learning the workout, but it's pretty simple: run when he tells you to run, walk when he tells you to walk.  You choose the intensity, but Skip is great at challenging you to be honest about whether you are really working hard enough.  I mean, HIIT is called high-intensity for a reason!  You gotta be dead at the end!

He also has a podcast for running outside, as well as a bunch of others I haven't checked out yet.  Give it a shot!  I will definitely do it on a regular basis, and since it has plenty of room for growth, its something that can stay in my little toolbox for a long time.  Learn more about high-intensity interval training here and give it a shot when you find yourself in the middle of a run that needs a little spice.

Have a healthy day and a great weekend!