Marathon Training — 3 Mile Treadmill Run and Speed Work

Brian Martin
Jul 21, 2017 · 2 min read

Decided to sleep in today and so I took to the treadmill after work and I felt really pumped to do so. It has been one of those days that just bothers me for no reason in particular and I felt the need to get all of that extra negative energy out. Normally I would lift weights to help but since I have started this training, my time spent running has increased dramatically. And so I hopped on the treadmill and was full of energy and motivation. Today I wanted to run, and not just run but RUN. And fast.

However I had to pull myself back, because I had a distance goal in mind and decided to incorporate my desire to run fast into that…by doing interval work. That work was done in a completely random way, if I liked the song and it made me want to sprint, I did. If it was more calm, I ran at my slower comfortable cardio-level pace.

I did finish the 3 miles in 29:46 so I managed to finish in under 30 minutes, less than 10 minutes a mile, much faster than my race pace. However, taking the approach of combining “running how I feel” and “running what I have to” was really eye opening to me.

I do have a set workout plan, but I gave myself very loose guidelines on it, because I know there are some days where I just want to run for fun and relax and some days where I want to be the fastest person on the road (or on the treadmill!). Giving that flexibility is going to help me in the long run to make sure that things do not get stale with my training. That flexibility will also be super helpful for injury prevention and general training burnout down the road.

After my second week of running 3 days in a row, I have to say that I am not as sore as I thought I would be, which is exciting! It gives me hope for the next weeks and what is to come. I am still super-intimidated about the marathon, but as I have heard before, “run the mile you’re in.”

Keep running —

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Brian Martin

In training for the Philadelphia Marathon. I like to run, write and talk about fitness. ACE Certified Personal Trainer. 🏃 Instagram: bmart692

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