Showing posts with label gains. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gains. Show all posts

Saturday, October 15, 2016

A good Bethpage run guided by heart rate

85% maxed out
Today's run (Bethpage bike trail): 4.4 miles

The air felt chilly this morning, but I resisted the temptation to add an extra layer on top. That was a good move, although I do wish I'd run in shorts rather than track pants. I've had a good week of running that included spending a little time on dirt trails. Today's trail was paved, but still preferable to running on the road.

I wasn't sure if Bethpage State Park is still collecting tolls on the weekend so I headed over to Colonial Road to park. The wind made the 45° temperature feel closer to 41° and that prompted me to go out fast to generate a little heat. My second mile was slower than the first, but I settled down and had negative splits on the miles after that. My overall pace wasn't in the nine minute range, but it was better than my current average. And that pace is a significant improvement over where I was at the beginning of this month.

The section of the Bethpage trail that runs north of Haypath Road is rolling with a few noticeable hills. Those hills have roughed me up at times and I didn't enjoy them today, but they didn't slow me down at all. The weather brought out a lot of runners, many in groups, and I wondered if these people were training for fall races. I'm considering a return to racing this year, targeting a 5K that I'd do with the Runsketeers in December.

From Haypath to Washington and back
That said, my training still has a ways to go. I pushed to stay over 80% HR max throughout most of today's run and stayed between 83-86% throughout the second half. I ran the last half mile at 9:36. Perceived effort was high considering the unremarkable speed. Still, I'm pretty sure running mid-9's would have put my heart rate above 90% max a month ago and I appreciate the conditioning gains so far.

I may head to the track tomorrow to do some repeats. I'm hoping that will unlock a little more speed. My first performance improvements happened on the track earlier in the month. Perhaps these intervals will take that a little further.

Friday, August 23, 2013

Elite sale yields bargain Virrata

New running shoe day. Guess which ones are mine.
Today's run (street): 3.4 miles

So far so good on the training front. This morning I went out with expectations of matching my recent pace range and I managed to do that. When I first entered time and distance into the pace calculator, I thought I'd missed the mark. I quickly realized I'd entered the time incorrectly, adding in an extra minute. It turned out that I'd actually exceeded my target and ran today's distance four seconds per mile faster than yesterday's.

I assign two factors to these recent gains: a constant focus on pace (via perceived effort, not watching the Garmin's display) and the continued recruitment of fast twitch fibers in my leg muscles. In other words, I'm thinking about running fast and building fitness. Runners come closest to their potential when racing and an active focus on speed while training does the same thing, to a lesser degree. That's why I'm not yet achieving sub-9 training runs, but I'm getting closer.

The family went out for a "Next to the last Friday before school starts" lunch and afterward we swung by the Gallery at Westbury Plaza. I wanted to check out Sports Authority's new SA Elite store that only sells adult size sports apparel and running shoes. I had no intention of buying anything, but they were having a sale, so I checked out the deals.

I've been looking for a lightweight running raincoat for a while. My venerable ASICS rain jacket committed zippercide last year and I've been on a quest to replace it. SA Elite was light on raincoat options, but they had some genuine bargains in their shoe section.

The store was running a sale, and this was no bottom of the barrel clearance. I did a double-take when I saw a pair of Saucony Virratas priced at $79 with a label next to it saying 20% off as marked. The best price I've seen on the web for these shoes has been $78 plus shipping. I asked for a pair in hi-viz yellow, but they only had my size in black. I was disappointed, but I tried them on the treadmill and liked the way they fit.

At the same time, my wife found a pair of ASICS Nimbus-14's that fit her well and were priced amazingly low with the included discount. I've been on her to replace her GEL-2160's that probably have more than 2,000 running miles on them. I'm serious, you should see them.

I'm thinking about doing a long base run this weekend and a shorter speed workout on the other day. I'm pleased with my progress and excited to be runnning in shoes with less than 500 miles on them. I hope the Virratas feel as good on the road as they did on the treadmill today.

Thursday, August 30, 2012

Like the DJIA, running performance has its gains and losses

Today's run (street): 2.5 miles

My performance gains of last week have given way to more moderate results this week. It's almost like a market correction where I've found myself dropping speed, but still holding some gains. I wonder if my ups and downs of running ever synchronize with the Dow. That would be an interesting investment strategy.

Tuesday's performance was hard to measure because I don't fully believe the numbers that I see on the treadmill. If I were to go by heart rate, I'd say that it was a credible run. Yesterday I did a street run and used my heart  rate monitor to guide my level of exertion. It became clearer to me how my perceived effort affects my speed. I didn't break 9:00 on Wednesday, but I came close.

This morning was a different story altogether. Running felt harder than the day before, and my stride did not feel fluid. I just wanted to get through the run so I could relax for 15 minutes before starting the rest of my day. Although it didn't feel like I was slacking off too much on my pace, my overall time was almost two minutes longer than yesterday, along the same route.

I expect to get out a little later and go a little longer tomorrow because it's a day off. I'm looking to experiment further with the relationship between heart rate and speed. I also need to get some hill training in so that I can be somewhat ready for big hill at the Cow Harbor 10K in a couple of weeks.
 

blogger templates | Webtalks