That all changed when I got the Nike+ thing that attaches to the ipod nano. It is really quite amazing. You can set time, distance, or calorie goals, and records your progress so you can look back and see how you are doing. It is like having a coach.
Today, while reading my favorite sites with my Google Reader, I came across a post on interval workouts. In this study, over 15 weeks, people who did interval work outs lost 3 times the fat running 20 minutes sessions vs. people who ran steady 40 minutes sessions. I like running, but running 20 minutes instead of 40 minutes with 3 times the result. I'm for that.
As I was looking for information about how to do interval workouts, I came across this good article, which tells you how to break it down. I also ran across this, which is a mix that Nike and Serena Willams made for interval running. She coaches you while you run and the songs match the speed of the workout. I bought it, the first thing I ever have bought on itunes.
That gave me the idea that I could just make a playlist and have the changes for the workout be indicated by the song lengths and the tempo of the songs (I found this Windows script which does something similar). Then I got an even better idea to do it in Garage Band and add in coaching and make it one file. So, here is the file I made. You don't need Nike+ to use it. You can just download it and listen to it in your iPod.
This is the basic layout it follows (from Men's Heath) :
Interval Variation I: Standard
The following is a typical interval workout. You alternate the same period of low intensity with the same period of higher intensity.1. 3 - 5 minutes warmup (light jog, low intensity, gradually increasing at the end of the warmup period)
2. 1 minute moderate or high intensity followed by 1 minute low intensity (repeat 6 - 8 times)
3. 3 - 5 minutes cooldown (light jog, low intensity, gradually decreasing by the end of the cooldown period)
