Recently, I’ve decided to embark on a half marathon training program. Watching the New York City marathon was so inspiring and exciting that I knew right then and there I had to do it someday. Sounds easy enough right….but full disclosure… even though I was a distance runner in high school (track and cross country) I’ve never actually run any distance longer than 9 miles. Truth be told, as much as I’d like to do one,  I’m a little afraid of running a half marathon. I have visions of being left out on the course alone with chaffed legs, vertigo and worst of all a dead ipod. Now I get it… I’m a hard core exerciser and I LOVE to run so my fears might be a little unfounded but weirdly, this vision has actually given me pause with it comes to the 13.1 miles.

The thing is I really miss the thrill of competition, pushing myself to break person records and the feeling of achieving things I thought I couldn’t so, I’m not talking myself out of it this time. I’m going to do a half marathon which will be the precursor to the full marathon I intend to run!

Here’s the catch, I live in Seattle and in case you didn’t know in Seattle it rains…like All. The. Time. (It’s no joke. It rains here 8 months out of the year, but the summers are lovely…I digress…) It’s also currently fall which means right now it’s raining, windy and cold All. The. Time. Don’t get me wrong sometimes there is nothing like running in the rain, it makes you feel tough and rugged but sometimes you look over at the warm, dry climate controlled treadmill and suddenly the idea of eight to ten miles on it doesn’t seem so bad.  In fact, you welcome it into your life with open arms.

Last weekend I did my first of many long runs on the treadmill.  In order to prevent boredom I tried the above breakdown and  boy did it work. Before I knew it, it was 70+ minutes and 8.5 miles later! Seriously, it felt like no time had passed! I recommend this workout to anyone looking to log a long run,  work on pacing, or get some milage in on the treadmill (without losing your mind). I especially loved the 5k pace at the end which is perfect for teaching your how to push through  mental blocks and power past tired legs.

Love this and you just have to give it a try! You can print the workout here. Long Run Treadmill Workout

In case your curious here is how I broke down my pacing…

• 15 min warmup = under a 10 min mile (5.8 mph)
• 10 minutes at 1/2 marathon pace = 10 min mile (6.0 mph)
• 5 min recovery = under a 10 min mile (5.8 mph)
• 10 minutes at 10 miles pace = 9 min mile (6.6 mph)
• 5 min recovery = under a 10 min mile (5.8 mph)
• 10 minutes at 10k pace = 8-8:30 min mile (7.5-8 mph)
• 5 min recovery = under a 10 min mile (5.8 mph)
• 5 minutes at 5k pace = 7 min mile (8.5 mph)
• 5 min cooldown = under a 10 min mile (5.8 mph)

- Caitlin