I took to the sidewalks again today for my interval cardio for the sake of efficiency because Chris and I wanted to catch the 12:35 pm showing of Zodiac. I didn’t have time to drive to the gym, do my intervals there, and then come home and shower, so I compromised by hoofing it around my neighborhood for a full 5k instead.

It was just as awful as I feared.

Tell me again why I bother running?

I used the free lower audio quality Cardio Coach v.6 workout that I downloaded last year during a CardioCoach.com promotion to guide my workout and got to about the halfway point of challenge 2 by the time I finished my 5k distance. If you absolutely loathe cardio, CC is a decent way to trick your stubborn brain into thinking about something besides the tedium of running, cycling, or stepping for 30-60 minutes at a stretch.

I am Miss Anti-Cardio incarnate, but even I can huff and puff through my cardio quota without my usual constant clock-watching when I’m running with this MP3 in my player. I think it is best when used with a cardio machine because the coach asks you to change your resistance levels several times (kind of hard to do outdoors when you live in a completely flat state like Florida), but you can still modify it for the great outdoors by increasing speed instead of resistance.

In case you missed out on the free download window last year, I have thoughtfully uploaded the MP3 as a zip file here:

Free Cardio Coach V.6 with Sean (Lower Audio Quality) Download (~24 MB)

This is the full workout, not a truncated sample. The only difference between this version and the full commercial download is in audio quality, though I haven’t noticed any major pops, static, or other issues with the free download. It’s a workout, not a concert, you know? I don’t need high quality stereo surround sound when the loudest sound I will hear is my own wheezing anyway.

If you like the free workout, support the Cardio Coach crew by checking out their other workout offerings at http://cardiocoach.com. They are running a buy two, get one free special right now on all of their audio workouts.

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TODAY’S WORKOUT

- 5k Outdoor Interval Run (30 minutes using Cardio Coach v.6)