Apologies for the lack of posts
this week, I've been in London at college and so by the time I'd got home and
done my work I was generally too tired to run or write. I did manage to do one four
mile run on the treadmill on Thursday, once again at 7.5 mph. I also spent an
hour in the pool on Saturday, but Sunday is the run I really want to write
about.
The plan was to go out and do an
easy 18 miles. I set off along my usual route but the running wasn't right and
I felt terrible. I was trying to do eight minute miles, but it just wasn't
happening. I kept around 8:30's but this really wasn't easy running. It did
start to feel better at about three miles, and the pace came down to about 8:10
though the heart rate continued at around 180 bpm, well above the 165 it should
have been at.
Then as I left Southwater to head
out along the Down's link the heavens opened and the rain started to pour down.
This wasn't the soaking rain of last week but big heavy drops that pounded
down. I carried on to the underpass where I hid away for a time. I kept
marching up and down and doing some light stretching to try and keep warm as
well as taking a gel.
When the rain finally abated I
headed home, taking the shortest route available in case it rained again. The
way home felt better but I was still trying to force it to reach 8 minute miles
and because of that my heart rate was high and it felt like hard work. This
overworking throughout the run meant that I ended up walking up the slope home
because frankly I couldn't be bothered to jog.
I ended up completing 9.5 miles
with an average pace of 8:28, and though the average heart rate shows 169 this
is definitely skewed downwards by the rest under the bridge, and realistically
is more like 180.
Due to having had a new treadmill
delivered on Friday this wasn't the end though, and with a quick change of top
into something dry I got on to do another 6 km's (3.7 miles). I started off at
12 km/h, the equivalent of the 7.5 mph I usually run on the treadmill, with an
incline of 3% (which supposedly makes the effort equivalent to running
outside). However the break gave me the opportunity to re-assess what I was
doing and focus on running to heart rate.
As this was initially way over
where it should be, similar to when I was out on the road, over the first
couple of kilometers the pace came down to 9 km/h and the incline to zero. This
actually got the heart rate under control at 165ish, and though I still fiddled
a bit either way this was about the pace I finished at.
I had decided in the previous weeks
that I want to run a 3:30 marathon in Brighton next weekend, equivalent to 8
minutes per mile. Before announcing that out loud I wanted to prove to myself
that I could do it by running that pace throughout today’s 18. The fact is that
my legs and lungs weren’t up to it, still carrying last weekend’s race as well
as the journeys to London. The marathon is still six months away, and that gives
me plenty of time to get to where I want to be. I just need to make the most of
every run by training to my heart rate.
Part 1
Distance: 9.48 miles
Time: 1 hour 20 minutes
Pace: 08:28 min/mile
Heart rate: 169 bpm
Part 2
Distance: 3.7 miles
Speed: ~6mph
Map: Here
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