...It's Like a Hamster Wheel, But For People

Per The Plan III I hit the gym today, knocking out an easy 2 miler, some free weight squats, lunges and the anti-shin-splint exercises shown in this post.

Two miles were cake, and I bumped up the pace a bit. My whole plan is to ease into this the right way, and I didn't want to shoot myself in the foot (or the shin) by being way too overzealous and amping the speed way up. So, I stuck around the 10min/mile mark.

Unfortunately, in order to get my workout in quickly and efficiently (as well as avoid concrete or other hard running surfaces), I decided to run on the treadmill. Treadmills can be boring, but it didn't really bother me today. Actually, it was a pretty great way to get my run in and concentrate on my form. I think what you lose on a treadmill (aside from outdoor aesthetic values) is the need to pace yourself. When the machine is lapping the belt at X rpms a minute, you don't have to monitor your pace and maintain it yourself—it happens for you, automagically.

In trying to get lifting into my routine, I foresee a problem reconciling my run locations. Or, to say it in another, non-spaghetti-talk way: it's gonna suck to have to run on a treadmill all the time, but I'm not sure what my options are.

Regardless, and above and beyond all else, it was a great run and a good workout.

Weights

Squats: 5 reps x 3 sets, 115lbs, 135lbs, 155lbs
Lunges: 5 reps (each side) x 3 sets forward-backward step lunges

Photo courtesy kennymiller at Flickr.