Mile Run - Mod. 1

Want to go for a quick run? Come on, let's get some exercise. I won't make you run the whole mile hard. I'm sure your hate for the mile probably stemmed from having to do it almost every year in high school. At least I'll try to make it interesting.

So why run a mile? Well it's a pretty common distance to run; it's not overly long but it's still a challenge. I don't like to run much farther than a mile, otherwise I'd run the risk of breaking down my muscle tissue for energy. I'm sure doing it once or twice wouldn't hurt, but I'd like to stay out of the habit. Long distance runners don't usually have much muscle to them. They will probably be defined but they won't have much muscle on their body, and I love my muscle and strength too much to risk it.

Ah the timed mile run, do you remember your first time? I think mine was in gym class and I didn't enjoy it at all. I wasn't in shape for it and I knew I HAD to run it in a certain time or I didn't get a passing grade for that day or something. We'd run around the edge of the field a few times and then try to run hard at the end to impress the gym teacher.

Now a mile doesn't seem so far. In fact my senior year in high school (2000), I ran the whole mile backwards, my back crossed the line before my front, and I was wearing jeans. So it's lost its dreaded atmosphere.

Are you ready to try a mile run with me? Make sure that you've got some good running shoes, not too worn out. Your feet will thank you. Good cushioning goes a long way with running shoes. I'm such a hypocrite, my shoes are 3 years old, but I'll be getting new ones soon. Believe me, you can tell the difference. And you'll also want a stopwatch of some type to gauge your progress. I use a digital wristwatch.

Alright, now let's move onto the basic structure of "my workout". It's really technical, you ready for it? You run the first half hard and the second half just a nice pace jog. Man, let that sink it. Let me know when you're ready to move on.

Alright, I set it up like that so it's almost two long intervals, three if you count running hard at the end. Plus, it's a little easier than running the whole mile hard. It'll help you work on getting a fast start in your mile and setting a faster pace for the first half. That fast pace may even carry over for the second half. You'll still get a decent endurance workout because you don't stop at the halfway mark. You try to jog the rest back after running the first half mile pretty hard.

If you can, then sprint the first half, I know I "try" to. Run it hard, try to get a good time for your first half. Don't stop the time when you get halfway, but look at your watch and try to remember how fast you ran that part. The first time I did this my "jog" was more like a fast prance on the way back, until I caught my breath.

Pace yourself though, do what you think you can handle, just don't give up. If you have to walk some on the way back, then go right ahead. It's almost an art, trying to figure out when you should run hard and how hard you should run. When I see the finish line I like to kick hard and finish fast. That gives me a slightly better time and it adds in another "interval" since it's a different intensity than your jog.

That wasn't that bad now was it? It definitely is a good workout though, especially if you like to test yourself with running. This may be nothing new to you; I just like trying different things with my running. Isn't it nice how the faster you run, the shorter your run has to be, time-wise, to feel like you got a good workout? That's why I like to go more by distance than time with my cardio workouts. Go hard and have the distance you want to go mapped out in your mind. Don't hop on the treadmill and say, "I'm going to run for 20 minutes." Now, go out and try this yourself and don't forget to warm up first!

>> Mile Run - Mod. 2 (coming soon) >>