Yesterday I stole a little time for myself to get out and run and it was just what I needed. A little mental shift, a little sweat, a little attitude adjustment; it was all good. It’s been quite awhile since I ran outdoors as the heat has been insufferable but yesterday couldn’t have been more perfect, what a gorgeous day it was that it would have been a total waste had I not ran.
Now just so we’re clear, my running has been sporadic these past few months and that is why I sit here today with very sore legs. It’s a good sore but one that gets you every time you get up from sitting for too long. A clear indicator that I need to get my rear in gear more often.
Anyway, let’s talk about my run, shall we? Let me explain how using your heart rate monitor is the best buddy for you when running. (I highly recommend you all go out and get yourselves one and set it up properly so you can run with purpose. Mine is all set up and I know my minimum heart rate number and my max heart rate number.) The reason you’ll want the monitor is so you can do… wait for it… interval running!
Of course.
Burn more calories in a shorter amount of time. Brilliant.
Here’s what you do once you’ve entered your resting heart rate, height, weight and all that jazz into your monitor. You run. You run like the dickens. Well actually you start out a little slower than the dickens but you eventually work yourself up to that. Once you’ve reached your max heart rate (depending on the level of fancy you’ve purchased in monitors, yours may give you a little beeping indicator that you’ve reached your max which is a nice little perk), you then back off, slow your pace and bring your heart rate back down to your minimum heart rate. Once you’ve reached that level (and you feel comfortable, are not light-headed, dizzy and about to puke) you then pick up the pace again and take it to the max. Once there, bring it back down.
Keep doing that over and over for however long you can do it and you’ll feel like you’ve pushed yourself literally to your max. What a fantastic way to workout and get the most out of you and your workout.
