Run 49

I got out tonight with a plan, for a change. I aimed to run the first mile in 10, then speed up to 9 minutes for the second mile, and try for 8 on the third.

Well, the first two miles went as planned. My HR was in the mid 170s for nearly all of mile 2, and when I hit mile 3 I was certain I could not speed up and sustain a faster pace. So I dropped the HR to 165-ish for the next half mile, then took it up over 170 again for the last half mile. Finished 5k in 30 minutes, 29 seconds, not as fast as I'd hoped.

Average HR was 168 and Max HR was 181, both higher than usual. I'm starting to appreciate the HR monitor's value for pacing again.

I've laid out a schedule to get in 13 more runs before the Dec 13 holiday race. I've got a bit of travel in there, Tampa next week, Chicago after Thanksgiving, so we'll see.

Peace, boys

Chilly Three

I got out this AM for the required three. It was actually a bit more than three and a bit less than my typical 3.3 -- I stopped at the bottom of my street and then walked off the run to my front door. I did the 3.2 in ~28. It was a good little trot, if chilly, and I felt good after my 8 miler on Sunday. I'm not sure why I stopped where I did, it felt strange, but I figure that I'm going to stick to the plan as much possible and see what happens. I've posted my training log on the web, and I'll update each day that I run so that you can see my progress.

(I loaded the spreadsheet onto Google Docs and then published it to the web -- it's pretty cool functionality and just one more example of the "social" web. There's nothing personal in the spreadsheet so it's not too weird, I don't think. Plus, it's sort of like research for my day job. It will update automatically and you can even get an RSS feed for the thing. The open platform will someday replace the desktop application, I think.)

Speaking of technology, I don't have any data because I lost my HR chest belt right around the time I got hurt -- I found the strap, but I can't find the business end of the thing so I'm taking a very casual approach to the timing and data stuff. I might suck it up though and invest in a new one -- I really like having the data and the log of my runs. I lost the first HR belt I ever owned and did invest in a new one. It seems that I lose the first version of each belt that I buy, and then replace it. That's a good habit . . . 5 miles tomorrow!

Kinda Quiet In Here

It appears that folks either aren't running, or aren't blogging but there's not much action up here this week.

Tomorrow I go again, but I figured I'd post something up for discussion sake. In my posts I put a little list of time, HR, distance, temp and Training Effect. The last item is probably unfamiliar to you. For Christmas I received a Suunto T3 Heart Rate Monitor. Like most HR monitors it comes in two pieces -- a wrist watch and a chest belt. The belt broadcasts the heart rate to the watch where it is recorded.

The watch is quite robust and it stores the data -- up to 15 workouts -- and let's you scroll through the data. It counts monthly and weekly totals and it can even be paired with a GPS to record mileage -- that's my next acquisition I think. Anyway, in addition to HR, time, calories (I burn an average of about 450 Kcals/run) it also records the aforementioned Training Effect. Basically, the watch scores each run based on avg/max HR, distance and Kcals on a scale of 1-5. The longer and harder you go, the higher your score -- though if you scroll down the list you'll notice that higher isn't necessarily better based on goals.

You can set your fitness level and the watch will move you up as you perform more. I moved very quickly from level 4-5 but have been on 5 for a while. I need to boost my training and get my workouts up to 5 in order to move to the next level. The levels are based on frequency and length of workout/week. It's a cool tool and I love to run with it. Allegedly, Carmichael Training Systems (the dudes who trained Armstrong) use this watch. I'd totally recommend running with a HR monitor if you don't -- it's nice to see the data from a run and it helps with pacing and helps you to see where you're netting out.

So, get out there and start running (and blogging) the weather's getting nice and you're running out of excuses.