Progress...

So, a while back, I'd managed to do interval training at 6 miles an hour for 2:15, and did this, I don't know, 7, 8, or 9 intervals in a row. Since then... well, I pulled a muscle, had to rest it, and once it was back, I haven't been able to put together more than 4 intervals at 2:15 in a row... and I haven't been able to get ten intervals in a row, total.

I was worried for a bit. Either I was finally engaging the right muscles, and they were just surprisingly weak, and needed a lot of conditioning, or something had happened and my heart wasn't strengthening up. (How long I run is determined by my heart rate.)

Well, Tuesday and Thursday I decided to hit the ellipticals again. That told me that I didn't have to worry about my heart. I was able to bump the resistance up a notch *and* my heart rate averaged around 140 (which is a good training rate for a 40 year old man).

So today, I went back to interval training. I decided to view running as weight lifting... what matters is getting the exercise done, not how much you need to rest in between. I ran for 2 minutes, and rested for 2.5 to 3. I finally (FINALLY!) got ten intervals in for 20 minutes of jogging. Then, just for giggles, I determined that I was able to run for a minute at 7 miles an hour without my heart or lungs exploding.

So, my body is in worse shape than I thought when it comes to running, but it's getting better.

Progress...

So, a while back, I'd managed to do interval training at 6 miles an hour for 2:15, and did this, I don't know, 7, 8, or 9 intervals in a row. Since then... well, I pulled a muscle, had to rest it, and once it was back, I haven't been able to put together more than 4 intervals at 2:15 in a row... and I haven't been able to get ten intervals in a row, total.

I was worried for a bit. Either I was finally engaging the right muscles, and they were just surprisingly weak, and needed a lot of conditioning, or something had happened and my heart wasn't strengthening up. (How long I run is determined by my heart rate.)

Well, Tuesday and Thursday I decided to hit the ellipticals again. That told me that I didn't have to worry about my heart. I was able to bump the resistance up a notch *and* my heart rate averaged around 140 (which is a good training rate for a 40 year old man).

So today, I went back to interval training. I decided to view running as weight lifting... what matters is getting the exercise done, not how much you need to rest in between. I ran for 2 minutes, and rested for 2.5 to 3. I finally (FINALLY!) got ten intervals in for 20 minutes of jogging. Then, just for giggles, I determined that I was able to run for a minute at 7 miles an hour without my heart or lungs exploding.

So, my body is in worse shape than I thought when it comes to running, but it's getting better.