Breakthru?

I'm not sure. For one thing, this Polar HRM is a POS. For the first 2 miles, my HR showed as 160. Don't think so. I reset it and it seemed ok for the remainder of my run. I was able to run comfortably without setting off the HRM. In the few instances where it beeped, simply backing down for a few seconds brought the heartbeat back into range. I ran an 11 min pace, but I think it was slow due to running on campus. I got stuck at several lights where I seemed to wait for-freaking-ever. All in all, the run felt very good. 5.4 miles and I'm fresh as a daisy. Figuratively, still smell like a trash truck. :)

Week 4, HRM Training

Hmmm, I don't really have much to say about this week of training. Monday's run was rather crappy. I had a hard time staying within the recovery zone. I thought that this was improving. Tues was a rest day. Weds was weights, where I was simply exhausted. Fortunately, my exhaustion is a lack of sleep and not due to training.

Thurs was my hard run. I was scheduled to do 12 1x1 min repeats. The weather was great, right around 50*. I got to the park around 5pm and it was already getting dark. Argh, no headlight. I did a mile warm up and then started the repeats. My goal was to keep running during the recover minute. I'm telling you, by the end of my total of 24 repeats, I was ready to run easy. However, the run totally felt great and exhilerating.

Friday morning was another frustrating recovery run. Stomach issues forced me to cut the run short. This morning was 9 miles with the 5th mile to be run hard. Stomach issues again. Had to turn around at just past the 1 mile mark and return home. Pit stop and back out the door. Ran the championship course, meaning rolling hills. My hard mile hit at the hilliest, twistiest part of the course. I thought my chest would explode it was so darn tough. I managed to finish the mile and was looking forward to dropping back to 75% for the rest of the run. Well, dadgumit, that 75% was pretty hard to achieve. I had a hard time staying in the zone and it seemed that any incline had the monitor beeping away. I ended up with 9 miles even at an 11:15 pace. Sucks.

I think overall, I'm going to say that I'm getting frustrated. On the upside, I am not exhausted all of the time. My legs have never once felt like lead weights over the past 4 wks. However, how long until I'm going to be able to stay in my recovery zone without walking and when is the pace going to fall a bit?? I can't say that I'm seeing any improvement. Nada.

Recovery Run

My last post was full of optimism, now fast forward to tonight, where I was supposed to run 6 at recovery pace. Within 1 mile, the monitor was beeping even on the flats. To make matters worse, I was running the championship golf course, meaning that the entire course was rolling. Lots of short, but steep hills. I elected to run the hills and walk the flats until I could get back into the zone. My overall pace was 11:25 miles – almost 1 min off of normal recovery pace. Overall, my avg HR was at 70% and my max went slightly above 75%, so not terrible, just slow. This is the 2nd time I have had a very slow recovery run 2 days following a long run. I’m wondering if the long run is a coincidence. Also, is this an illustration on the advantage of using an HRM? Typically, I would have figured that I did not run yesterday, so I should be running a 10 min pace. I probably would have felt like crap by the end and been frustrated. Later in the week, I’d be tired, sore, etc. I don’t know, but that’s my hypothesis.

Got a little chilled at the end of the run. I guess that means more cider & rum!

Week 3, HRM Training

I've now finished week #3. Running with the HRM is getting to be less annoying. I find that I am able to run within the range for the most part. When I do set off the monitor, just slowing down for a few steps typically puts me right back into the range. I haven't missed any of my recovery range runs because, quite frankly, they are too enjoyable to miss. I finish feeling refreshed/invigorated. My recovery pace seems to be falling at 10:30 min miles.

I have also found a coach to work with. This guy owns the local running store and had formally run on the Hanson's team, up north in Michigan! He's quite a bargain at $40 for the entire training period. Since my goal race is in March, it's $40 for now thru March. I'm currently in a base building phase and he's also doing some experimenting to narrow down my HR zones. My runs this week have been:

Mon - 4 recovery
Weds - 5, with 6 2min x 2 min fartleks in the middle
Fri - 4 recovery
Sat - 8 at 75%, but run the last mile hard

I ran today's 8 miles an avg of 30 secs per mile faster than last week, a 10:15 pace. Again, I finished running strong and feeling good. I've been on my feet all day and I am just now getting tired. Also, I ran the entire 8 miles with only exceeding my zone 2x and that was on hills. I still ran the hills and then slowed it down once I crested. Again, the hr fell right away.

I am enjoying the training and seeing the potential enough to stick with it. Like I said, the recovery runs are soooooo easy and enjoyable there is no sense in skipping them. It would be like skipping a chocolate milk shake. The harder runs are few enough that I'm typically feeling like I want to push it a bit. It's also leaving more energy for me to get some strength training in.

If I could just get my nutrition under control, I would be gold. I was traveling 2 weeks ago and this week was busy, so it's been way too much take out. I guess there's always something to complain about.

2 Weeks Down

Yep, I'm on my 3rd week of HRM training. It's still frustrating!!!

On the bright side, I find that I'm typically able to run my first 2 miles at a low 10 min per mile pace before the monitor starts dinging. For the most part, I can slow my pace down and have the HR drop back into my range within a few seconds. The brightest spot was my long run, which was done at 75% of max. It felt incredibly slow, but I ran the entire 8.5 miles at a 10:45 pace and felt fresh at the end. I've only done an 8 mile or longer run 3x's in the past 2 months. 2 of those runs were at an 11 min pace and I was dead at the end. Saturday's 8 miler did not faze me.

Tonight's recovery 5 miler was extremely slow. Over an 11 min pace, 2 mins overall slower than the same route last week. I was happy it got dark so no one would see me out there plodding away. I was ready to smash the watch with every beep.

I am now following a schedule provided by a coach at the Columbus Running Co. He's got me doing 6 2x2 repeats (2 mins fast/2 slow) and throwing a fast mile on the end of my long run. I'm supposed to record my heart rate on those runs, and do the same for my "hard" runs over the next 3 weeks. He'll tweak my HR ranges from there. He wants me to hang in there with the HR training as well.

Argh. frustration abounds!

Max Out!

I tried running the hills at Highbanks in order to test out my max HR. Alas, could not get above 156. I think my max is fairly low, but not sure it's quite that low. I think I'll keep my calculations where they are. I'm currently basing my calcs on a max of 170 and resting HR of 40.

How can I sum up my first week of HR training? 21 miles of running, 1 strength session and I feel rested. Legs are fresh and I'm not wiped out. I'm looking forward to kicking up the training a notch in another week.

Also, watched the NYCM on tv. Really tempted to register for it next yr. The only thing holding me back is the $185 entrance fee. Dang, that's a lot of dinero!

Pain in the Ass!

The heart rate monitor doesn't monitor worth crap. My heart rate bounced between 160 and 00. WTF? I'm going to try changing the battery again. If that's not it, it goes in the trash.

I am proud of myself for getting out for the run. I ran 4.13 AFTER the OSU game. That means after drinking 2 bloody marys for breakfast and sitting in the chilly air. Yep, I got it done.

Totals for Oct:
Run - 66.7
Bike - 28
Strength - 7