An Interval Workout To Turn Your Legs to Jello

Hi friends! I hope you are staying safe and warm in this storm, if it’s affecting you. Snow is still falling here! So far we have 3″ inches – that’s more than I’ve seen in NC since 2009 I think! The roads were crazy slick at 1 PM when I moved my car out of my driveway (so I wouldn’t get stuck) and could barely get up the slight hill to the road! I’m sure the roads are horrific now – they just get so icy here and the city doesn’t have the resources to keep the roads clear, so I’ll probably be holed up for a while.

Maizey is being hilarious in the snow – check out the video I posted on Instagram of her earlier today. I was cracking up! (My Instagram handle is @afoodiestaysfit, if you don’t already follow me.) After she played, she sat and stared out the window for hours.

I started my day at 5:20 with some hot tea and stumbled around the house in a sleepy stupor before finally heading to the gym at 6 for an interval run. I was surprised the gym wasn’t more crowded with people trying to get their workouts in before the storm hit and the Y closed. But luckily, there was an open treadmill!

I forgot to add incline for the warm-up and the first interval, but I set the incline to 1.5 during my first recovery and kept it there for the rest of the workout. Sometimes the recoveries were a little longer or shorter than 4 minutes, just to get the mileage to a place where it was easier to keep track of the 1/2 mile sprints.

• 1 mile warm-up at 8:30 pace

• INTERVAL 1: 1/2 mile at 6:18 minute/mile pace
  • 4 minutes recovery, 9:30 pace

• INTERVAL 2: 1/2 mile @ 6:18 minute/mile pace
  • 4 minutes recovery, 9:30 minute/mile pace

• INTERVAL 3: 1/2 mile @ 6:18 minute/mile pace
  • 4 minutes recovery, 9:25 minute/mile pace

• INTERVAL 4: 1/2 mile @ 6:18 minute/mile pace
  • 4 minutes recovery, 9:30 minute/mile pace

• INTERVAL 5: 1/2 mile at 6:18 minute/mile pace

• ~1 mile cool down, 8:30 minute/mile pace.

Total Distance: 6.43 miles

Total Time: 52 minutes

Again, like the tempo workout I posted, you can easily adjust this to suit your training level.

• Aim for your intervals to be 30 seconds FASTER than your 5K pace. 
• Recovery should be a super easy jog – whatever pace it takes for you to feel relatively fresh after 4 minutes. But don’t walk! 

If you can’t maintain the pace on the first interval, back off the pace a little bit on the others. The last interval should be very difficult to maintain at goal pace but hang in there! I almost didn’t make it myself! But, I felt so great afterwards. My legs were nice and jello-y all day and they are starting to get pretty sore this evening. 🙂

Happy running! Let me know if you try this and what you think!

Also, if you’re being hit by snow, how much do you have so far?