January 28th: Intervals, and Getting by With a Little Help From My Friends

I've been talking about it forever, and this morning, I finally bucked up and did it: interval training.

The main difference between Higdon's Novice 2 and Intermediate 1 is interval training. And I know that if I really want to hit 4:00, I'm going to have to get some speed work in. (Thanks to a couple friends for the reminder/kick in the pants on this.) The next trick will be getting it done consistently.

I have to say that I'm really getting sick of the arctic weather. I really want to get some outdoor runs in. (Of course, it got into the 40s yesterday when I wasn't running.) But for intervals, the treadmill is really the better option. You have precise control over speed and incline, and it's easier to time your intervals. So after a warmup and some quick ab work, I hopped on. I do 1:30 intervals, 2 percent incline, between 7.7 and 8.1 mph. The rest intervals are flat at around 5.8. I wanted to hit an earlier train, so I stopped at 30:00. That was good enough for 3.4 miles -- an 8:49 pace overall. I could've gone another round or two.

I mentioned above that a couple friends pushed me to do speedwork. And I've been thinking a lot about friends. Although running is probably the most solitary of sports, you sure need a good team if you're going to reach your goals. So I wanted to thank a number of people for their help and support:

--My wife, Jackie: She's given me unlimited support and encouragement. She's also been incredibly patient with this time-suck training -- and with all the sweat I've left behind in her car! And she surely knows more about running than she ever cared to.

--My boss, Ira Robbins: He, too, has been incredibly patient as I've devoted more and more time to my running. I truly appreciate his flexibility.

--My three main mentors -- Erik Hage, Jeremy Shapiro and Dave Rose. Their wise counsel has guided me immeasurably, saved me a lot of time on the learning curve and even helped me avoid injury.

--My brother-in-law Ken Blanch: He's also been of counsel, and he's the one who talked me into this journey. 4:00 or bust, Ken!

--My first real running partner, Dan McDevitt: We started our running together, and he helped me realize I can do this.

--My friend Matt Frey: When I was still a big fat dude, Matt gave me his old treadmill to get me started. And created a monster.

There are so many others who've encouraged me along the way, most notably Liz Walter, Nick DiFranco, Dave Paich, Keith Norton, Amy Lippincott, Allison Swift, Matt Kelsey, Alex Cano, Jason Robinson, Teri O'Meara,  Sue Frey, Matt Waters, Christine McDevitt, Chris Gerlach, Chris Adams, Cheryl Larned, my parents Peg and Mark, and of course, my kids Andrew and Carol. (Sorry if I left anyone out!)

In Edit: I did leave at least two people out: Barrie Luongo and Aaron Rennie.

It's really amazing to know just how many people I have rooting for me. It inspires me to keep going. I still have a long road ahead (literally and metaphorically), but I feel like your support is pushing me down that road.

Tomorrow is 6 or 7 miles on the belt. Thursday will be an easy 4.

Total miles since starting the blog: 280.2