NEW Best Treadmill Long Run Ever!

In mid-January, I had a really fast treadmill long run where I started my "faster pace miles" in the middle a lot faster than normal (9.4 mph vs 8.9 - 9.1 mph) and kept speeding up. Those middle 6 pace miles were done in 36:10 (6:01.67/mile pace).

This week, I out-did that. We got a little snow overnight before my long run, so the trails were too slick for me to be out on them (it screws up my knee). So I hit the treadmill, and thought "Ummmm.... maybe I can start faster like I did a few weeks ago..."

So again, I started at 9.4 mph and sped up 0.1 mph every half mile. But this time, I sped up an EXTRA 0.1 mph at 2 different times throughout the workout: around mile 0.7 and around mile 3. With an extra bump in speed near the end, I had gone from 9.4 mph up through 10.8 mph for the final 0.3 miles or so!! My half-mile splits for those middle 6 miles were:

3:11, 3:08, 3:06, 3:01, 3:01, 2:59, 2:58, 2:56, 2:54, 2:52, 2:49, 2:47

= 35:47!! (5:57.83/mile)

I averaged under 6:00/mile for those 6 miles! Back in July, I had my first outdoor long run where I dropped under 6:00/mile - I've only been speeding up in my long runs over the years (not that I'm necessarily getting FASTER, but mostly because I decided to push the effort more and more... which DID start to make me faster).

Overall, it was 11.7 miles in 1:17:41, or 6:38 pace. With the middle 6 miles averaging just under 5:58 pace.

I had to run upstairs during my cooldown to wake my boys - you can tell where.

But seriously, I can't help but wonder if my treadmill is slowing down a bit in its old age... I might not be this fast...