4.8

So, I'm working on getting in shape for the big triathlon in a couple of months. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays I work on the treadmill and stationary bike, and on Thursdays and Fridays I work on the elliptical machines and rowers. And I've been following the instructions I've read in books to start slowly and increase your workout by 10% each week. Since it's currently too cold to run on a regular basis right now, I can't increase my mileage by 10%, I've been increasing my speed by 10% instead, until I get up to 10-minute miles. That's six miles per hour.

Today I got up to 4.8, and it nearly killed me. For the first time, I had to hold onto the guide bar just to keep moving.

I'm not going to lie. It wasn't fun, but I think I can keep it going for the rest of the week. Fortunately, I had already planned to plateau at 5mph next week, for a couple of weeks, and focus on building strength by increasing the elevation instead of the speed. Maybe that's what I should have been doing since the beginning, but what're you going to do?

And, of course, I did feel better afterwards, once I had gotten my breath back. But I continued to sweat for about an hour.

Once I can legitimately get myself to 6mph and an incline of 6.0, I will be very, very happy. But, I think I may be even happier once I can run on the road instead, and just concentrate on putting the miles behind me instead of focusing on a speed.