10.12.2007

tire.trouble.

I went to the gym today and did two minute intervals on the treadmill for an hour. First I ran 1.5 miles at 5.5mph, then I walked at 4mph for 2 mins, then cranked it to 7mph for 2 mins, then 4 mph for 2 mins, etc. I like doing this for two reasons. One, it's good cardiovascularly and increases your endurance and metabolism for a while, and two, it's very satisfying being able to run at an all out sprint for two minutes with some time for recovery afterwards. It makes the hour pass faster than it would if I was just running, plus, I burn more calories this way. I was beat afterwards, and headed out to my car so I could go home and shower. Unfortunately, I had a flat tire. I'd driven over a screw- it was sticking out, right up front so I could see it. Like last time, the conditions were not ideal for me to change the tire myself. I was all sweaty in my running shorts and t-shirt, it was cold out, and it was raining. I called aaa since that's what I pay them for, and settled in my front seat and flipped through the real simple magazine I had in the car. Five minutes before they arrived, I realized that my trunk was as full as it gets. I'd packed my trunk, tighter than sardines, with stuff to donate until I was able to drop it off. So in the rain, I had to move everything from the trunk (fyi- jettas have huge trunks) into the back seat so they could get the spare tire out. First thing tomorrow, I'm taking a trip to the thrift store to drop everything off. Maybe I'll get better gas mileage without all that extra weight in there.

2 comments:

Evil said...

hey, good going with the interval workouts! i agree, they're great. a quick suggestion if you dont already do it: put the treadmill on a little incline. something like 1.0 or 1.5 would be good. reason is: running uphill on sprints reduces the pounding that your lower body takes. it'll help to avoid injuries. and of course, it's harder, so you get more out of the workout! :) and on the recovery intervals, it's ok to make the treadmill flat.

stephanie said...

Good suggestion- I actually considered doing this yesterday, but was already beat, so decided to pass. I never thought about the decreased impact benefit. That's definitely something that would make my knee happier. Tomorrow's a reservoir lap day, but I'll try this out on monday.