A.M. LT run on Treadmill (the same one I usually run on)
I ran the first half at 6:40/mi and HR was a little lower than last week so I increased the speed to 6:31/mi for the second half. I took splits every ~5 minutes to get HR data.
| Split |
Time |
Pace |
Ave HR |
| 1 |
5:02 |
6:40 |
169 |
| 2 |
5:05 |
6:40 |
172 |
| 3 |
5:03 |
6:31 |
175 |
| 4 |
5:05 |
6:31 |
177 |
HR gradually rose during split 3 and then seemed to level off at a true steady state. I felt like I was right on the line for my true LT. During my recovery jog, HR dropped down to 147 BPM 73 seconds after finishing.
On another note, I think the speed on this treadmill is awefully accurate and reflects what I would run on flat ground. I have a strong fan constantly blowing at me to keep cool. I think the chronic headwind negates the treadmill "tailwind" effect and make the pace legit.
I ran 4 x ~50 meter acclerations upstairs on the track. These felt great. In fact, I felt something I haven't felt for 9 or 10 years. Its hard to explain to anyone who has never done sprint training, but when you are sprinting relaxed and effortless, your knees pop up from the elastic rebound of your leg striking the track. You always hear sprint coaches say "lift your knees" etc. So you see people trying to crank their knees up high to run faster, but its forced. In contrast, you know your doing it right when your knees seem come up on their own as your legs alternately strike and then bounce up from the track. You'll feel it in your hamstrings too.
Right now my training is going pretty well. I'm working hard and making progress but am not overtraining. I think the cumumlative benefit overtime of proper training is the acquisition of "running skill." The last few week I've felt a fluidity in my stride that I haven't felt for years and what I felt this morning is more of the same. I'm not as fast as I used to be, but my mechanics and coordination are starting to come back and I think that is the ultimate precursor to regaining competitive form.
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P.M. Very easy 21st East Loop.
Standard portion was 8:59/mi @ HR 140, then four laps around the block cutting down from ~8:40 per mile with last lap just under 8 minute pace at HR 152.
4.74 miles in 42:27.
Running doubles 3x/wk seems to be working for me. I think the marginal benefit of increasing my second run from 30 to 40 minutes is significant without a large cost so I'll try to push out to ~40 minutes regularly. It took me 30 minutes today just to get in the zone enough to run a decent training pace. It usually take 10-15 so by going 40 I'll increase the real training portion of my runs 50%+.
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A.M. Weight = 177.9 | 
