New Wednesday Workout

    Wednesdays I get to go to the station and visit with my beloved Fire Engines. It is about my favorite night of the week, but getting home from work, squeezing in a workout, eating, and making it to the station by 6:45 makes for an action packed evening. Last night I came up with an interesting, effective running workout. Yes, I am limited to the treadmill most days now, it gets dark so early, and there is no such thing as sidewalks or streetlights out my way. I modified a workout I found at Runner's World. Here is how it worked:
Warm up: walk @ 3.5mph for 30 seconds, Run @ 4.5 for 30 seconds. Repeat for 5 minutes.
Next, increase the run speed by .5mph, and time to 60 seconds every set up to 7mph, then decrease speed by .5mph every set until back to 4.5mph. Okay, I ran at 6mph for 2 sets, and 6.5mph for 2 sets on the increase and decrease, just because I felt like it. I feel really good running at 6mph and 6.5mph, it feels like my "new" natural pace. I don't know how long I can keep that pace up, but it feels easier with nearly every run. Even 7mph felt good, though I was breathing a little hard at the end of a minute. This workout plays out like a Fartlek/Speedplay run, and I enjoyed the intensity, despite its brevity. My total time running was about 25 minutes. I think I will incorporate this into my weekly regiment.
    After the run I still had time before I needed to clean up for drill. I got out my newly made  3"x 6' Slosh Tube, 20lbs of unstable weight made expressly for my personal pleasure. I didn't want to overdo it before drill, and I always approach my first workout with a new toy or new series of exercises with a bit of caution so I don't cripple myself in my zeal. I shouldered my Tube for a couple of sets of wide squats and deep squats. It was interesting, feeling all the small shifts of weight and my body responding to counteract. I tried a split squat, but only did 5 per side, it is hard to balance in that position with the Tube doing its damnedest to mess with you. I added in a few sets of one-legged squats, leg raises, and regular split squats before I ran out of time. It turned out to be a great, compact workout. I worked up a sweat, got my cardio up, and got to play with my new self-torture device.
    I don't know if I have posted this video yet, it is how to make a Slosh Tube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XYt2cIKLLPg