ARE YOU HIGH?!

"Are you high?!" many runners might reply when asked if they enjoy treadmill running (if they ever run on a treadmill at all.

I'm not much of a treadmiller myself. I run outside through high heat and crazy cold, but I do sometimes use a treadmill, especially when there's snow and ice to prevent a slip and fall. I even wrote about treadmilling a few years ago for the Flyers Blog, which (of course you'll want to re-read :) can be viewed by clicking HERE.

Not long ago, on a snowy day, I ventured over to the Mile High Run Club in the East Village for a new treadmill experience for me.  I'd heard about Mile High from a Team for Kids Coach, Simon D, who has since started coaching classes at Mile High.

The class I went to was led by Laura C.  It was called The Distance, with the expectation that the class would involve running at least 5 miles (I ran 6.5 miles).  They also offer the Dash 28 class, which included intervals plus power training with kettlebells (I love kettlebells, so need to come back for that one!).  There's also one outdoor run class (Simon coaches that one).  You can click HERE for the schedule of classes.

Laura's "The Distance" class began with a 10 minute warm-up after she got all of us set up to run including with the brief instructions we needed on how to use the treadmill.  The focus of the class was 4 sets of the following (with 3 minutes recovery jog between each set): 2 min hill on 6.0 incline, 1 min at 7:30/mi, 1 min 7:00/mi, 1 min 6:40/mi, 1 min 7:00/mi, 1 min 6:40/mi.  We determined our own pace, but we sped up and slowed back our paces on the varying minutes based on Laura's guidance.  The class was suitable for runners of all paces, and we were encouraged to walk if needed.

Upon finishing the interval work together, we all finished up with a recovery jog to cool down.  The class was challenging, and it was fun to share the experience with a group of runners indoors on a snowy day. Laura had lots of energy, which combined with the music she selected, made for a very upbeat class. During the class she provided encouragement, humor, and anecdotes from her own experiences, and walked around the room offering encouragement, assistance with settings and form tips.

It's something I would do again and that I recommend to others.  If you'd like to try out a free class, Flyers Head Coach Brian R shared a promotion code (NYCRUN2015) that can be used by Flyers that was provided for us by the Mile High Run Club that expires on May 1, 2015.  And if you'd like to hear an excellent interview conducted by Gotta Run with Will (a friend of the Flyers) of Mile High Run Club Founder and President Debora Warner, you can click HERE or on the link below to listen to watch and listen to what she has to say.

-Dave K

NY Flyers Blogmaster