Today's run (street): 2.5 miles
It felt humid when I changed into running clothes this morning and I saw that the temperature was about eight degrees higher than yesterday at that time. I was already sweating when I put on my heart rate monitor and a quick check showed normal readings just before I started. I haven't downloaded the run to Garmin Connect, but I expect that I'll see an even HR pattern across the timeline when I do.
I'm never quite sure how I'll feel before I take the first few steps off my driveway each morning. Some days it feels as though I'm carrying sandbags around my ankles. Other times my stride feels fluid and my energy level feels high. This morning it was much more the latter, although I did feel some twinges in my leg muscle as I pushed up the first street's slight incline.
My response to those twinges was to apply more power. Despite my harder pace, I was doing a little sleep-running and found myself nearing the one mile mark sooner than I'd expected. A check of my Garmin showed that I was still running below my targeted heart rate. I picked up speed once again, but finished slightly below my goal of reaching Zone 4.
My overall time was good and, since I've been monitoring my heart rate, my average pace on these morning runs has dropped close to 15 seconds per mile. I have one more weekend to train for the Oyster Bay 5K so I'll need to make every run count till then. This morning was a good start. I hope I feel the same tomorrow.
Showing posts with label heart rate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label heart rate. Show all posts
Tuesday, October 2, 2012
Monday, October 1, 2012
Heart rate spikes and my HR monitor
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| Mystery spikes at the beginning of my runs |
Now, when I see that my heart rate is still in the "easy" zone, I'll pick up the pace to cross the threshold to the next level. I aim to reach zone 5 by the time I finish most of my runs and I usually get there.
I was looking at the readings from yesterday's run and noticed that my heart rate was holding close to 100% of Max through the first three minutes. From there it dropped precipitously down to 76% for no apparent reason. I had seen this happen before, my first few minutes of the Cow Harbor 10K show a spike to 100% of Max before dropping to 80% at the five minute point.
In the case of Cow Harbor, I was pumped up for the race and had consumed a 2nd Surge gel with caffeine right before the start. In contrast, yesterday's run was low key, with no gels or caffeine to influence my physiology. In both cases I felt no different between the high and normal readings. Since it doesn't correlate to my condition, I'm thinking the reason is completely benign.
In both cases the humidity was low and I had not wet the HRM sensor before I linked it to the Garmin. Without moisture from sweat, the readings were probably unreliable. After a few minutes of running (and sweating) they dropped to an expected level. I'll test this theory tomorrow by ensuring the contacts on the HRM are wet before I start my run. I'm pretty sure I'll see a smoother curve along the timeline.
Tuesday, September 18, 2012
Boardwalk run at Sunken Meadow
Yesterday's run (Sunken Meadow State Park boardwalk): 1.5 miles Today's run (treadmill): 25 minutes
I was recently on Google maps looking at a few of the parks on Long Island that have trails that I want to run. Over the past few years I've made many trips to Stillwell Woods, Trailview and Bethpage State Parks and to the Muttontown Mystery Trail. I've run and raced a number of times at Eisenhower Park and hiked in places like Caumsett and Caleb Smith. An interesting park that I hadn't yet visited is Sunken Meadow State Park, located in King's Park, on Long Island Sound.
Our plan on Monday was to hike Caleb Smith in the morning, before the weather got too hot, We headed over early but when we arrived, we saw that the gates were closed. We then decided to get back on the Sunken Meadow Parkway and go north to Sunken Meadow State Park. It took us less than ten minutes to get there and we headed immediately to the boardwalk that runs 3/4 of a mile along the beach.
This park is large and impressive and we only scratched the surface in our exploration. The boardwalk looked inviting so while my wife and kids made their way down to the water, I did a very easy run along the walkway. I was wearing my Helly Hansen trail shoes because I'd expected to be hiking, but the forgiving wooden surface felt fine. The picture above was taken by my wife, who was sitting on a jetty with the kids, as I ran by.
We're looking forward to a return trip to Sunken Meadow and I'm especially interested to try the trails with their famously difficult hills. This morning I opted for an indoor run out of concern for rainy weather. I used my HRM to guide my pace and did half the run in zone 3 before bumping up the speed in increments to get me to zone 4. I found it much easier to push my pace when I saw that my HR was still fairly low.
If the rainy weather continues I'll probably find myself on the treadmill again tomorrow. Now that I know how fast I need to run to get into zone 4 (about an 8:50 pace), I may get up to speed a little quicker.
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| An unexpected boardwalk run |
I was recently on Google maps looking at a few of the parks on Long Island that have trails that I want to run. Over the past few years I've made many trips to Stillwell Woods, Trailview and Bethpage State Parks and to the Muttontown Mystery Trail. I've run and raced a number of times at Eisenhower Park and hiked in places like Caumsett and Caleb Smith. An interesting park that I hadn't yet visited is Sunken Meadow State Park, located in King's Park, on Long Island Sound.
Our plan on Monday was to hike Caleb Smith in the morning, before the weather got too hot, We headed over early but when we arrived, we saw that the gates were closed. We then decided to get back on the Sunken Meadow Parkway and go north to Sunken Meadow State Park. It took us less than ten minutes to get there and we headed immediately to the boardwalk that runs 3/4 of a mile along the beach.
This park is large and impressive and we only scratched the surface in our exploration. The boardwalk looked inviting so while my wife and kids made their way down to the water, I did a very easy run along the walkway. I was wearing my Helly Hansen trail shoes because I'd expected to be hiking, but the forgiving wooden surface felt fine. The picture above was taken by my wife, who was sitting on a jetty with the kids, as I ran by.
We're looking forward to a return trip to Sunken Meadow and I'm especially interested to try the trails with their famously difficult hills. This morning I opted for an indoor run out of concern for rainy weather. I used my HRM to guide my pace and did half the run in zone 3 before bumping up the speed in increments to get me to zone 4. I found it much easier to push my pace when I saw that my HR was still fairly low.
If the rainy weather continues I'll probably find myself on the treadmill again tomorrow. Now that I know how fast I need to run to get into zone 4 (about an 8:50 pace), I may get up to speed a little quicker.
Sunday, September 16, 2012
Not exactly a recovery run
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| This year's Cow Harbor's race tee |
I looked forward to today's "recovery workout" as a way of enjoying a run without thinking about performance. After Saturday's hard running up, down and over the Cow Harbor course, I thought an easy four miles would be, well, easy. Unfortunately, it didn't quite work out that way.
My run started out fine as I settled into slow but steady pace. My heart rate stayed below 70% of max through the first two miles as I enjoyed the quiet of my neighborhood streets. Soon after that I began to tire, and I felt the effort even though my pace was slow. I was puzzled why I seemed to be hitting a wall on such an easy run, especially since my heart rate remained low.
I abandoned my original plan to run 4 and a half to 5 miles and instead changed course towards home. The final mile was difficult and my stamina was shot. I wondered if the work I did during the race had taken more out of me than I'd realized.
As I reached the last few streets heading back to my house, I increased my speed to see how my body would react. I've previously experienced fatigue when running slow and I found that increasing my effort sometimes helps. This seemed to be the case today, my energy level improved and by the time I finished I was running a high-8:00 pace.
I'm not going to over-think today's run. I'll assume that my experience was directly related to yesterday's hard running. I'm off from work tomorrow and I'll decide in the morning whether to run or rest. I'm curious to know how my next run goes, but I recognize that a rest day may be the best way to ensure a better experience.
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.
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.
Tuesday, August 28, 2012
Finally using my HRM (with good results)
Today's run (treadmill): 25 minutes
I knew it would be rainy this morning so I planned to do a treadmill run. I finally got around to setting up my heart rate monitor on Sunday and linked it to the Garmin, so I had that to play with. With the rain outside, it was very humid in my guest room. I put the fan in a fixed position and aimed it directly at the front of the treadmill. This reduces the heat, but the forced air causes dryness in my sinuses and throat.
It's been a long time since I've used an HRM. The treadmill has grips that allow you to capture your current heart rate, but read time takes a while and it's awkward to run that way at speed. The Garmin is much more convenient and it monitors in real time, providing important information as you run.
One important thing I learned was that my usual routine on the treadmill did not tax my heart as much as I'd thought. Since I despise this method of running it always feels hard, at any speed. What I thought was a good workout pace turned out to be on the threshold between the recovery and aerobic zones. To really get benefit I needed to push myself into the anaerobic zone (between 80-90% max HR).
I watched my heart rate as I increased the treadmill's speed and was surprised how hard it was to bump my HR higher on the aerobic zone. It may have been psychological, but I found it easier to sustain paces below 9:00 after seeing that my heart rate was still below 80% of max. I ended up running faster than I usually do on the treadmill without feeling much fatigue during or afterward. I'll be curious to see what kind of numbers I see when I take it to the streets tomorrow.
I knew it would be rainy this morning so I planned to do a treadmill run. I finally got around to setting up my heart rate monitor on Sunday and linked it to the Garmin, so I had that to play with. With the rain outside, it was very humid in my guest room. I put the fan in a fixed position and aimed it directly at the front of the treadmill. This reduces the heat, but the forced air causes dryness in my sinuses and throat.
It's been a long time since I've used an HRM. The treadmill has grips that allow you to capture your current heart rate, but read time takes a while and it's awkward to run that way at speed. The Garmin is much more convenient and it monitors in real time, providing important information as you run.
One important thing I learned was that my usual routine on the treadmill did not tax my heart as much as I'd thought. Since I despise this method of running it always feels hard, at any speed. What I thought was a good workout pace turned out to be on the threshold between the recovery and aerobic zones. To really get benefit I needed to push myself into the anaerobic zone (between 80-90% max HR).
I watched my heart rate as I increased the treadmill's speed and was surprised how hard it was to bump my HR higher on the aerobic zone. It may have been psychological, but I found it easier to sustain paces below 9:00 after seeing that my heart rate was still below 80% of max. I ended up running faster than I usually do on the treadmill without feeling much fatigue during or afterward. I'll be curious to see what kind of numbers I see when I take it to the streets tomorrow.
Friday, April 15, 2011
Massachusetts Institute of (Running) Technology
Today's workout (elliptical): 23 minutes
I'm back in NY so last night I thought I'd do a morning run in my neighborhood. When I got up I considered my mild cold and decided to do an indoor workout instead. It had been over a week since I'd cross trained so I did a shorter than normal elliptical session that generated a good sweat. If the weather is clear this weekend I'll try for a long base run as I train for the half marathon that's happening in three Sundays from now.
My visit to the Media Lab was enlightening as usual and I came upon a couple of interesting activity related projects. The Cardio Cam, from the Affective Computing Lab, is a mirror with a webcam mounted at the top. You position yourself so that your face is centered in a frame that's superimposed on the mirror. After a couple of seconds, large numbers appear on the lower right that show your heart rate. It's as simple as that. The webcam images your face and the algorithm calculates your heart rate based on a spectral analysis of your image samples -- or as they put it "Non-contact, automated cardiac pulse measurements using video imaging and blind source separation." The display showed my pulse just a bit under 60, which would be right for me under normal conditions.
A project that came out of the Speech & Mobility group used location tracking on a smartphone that feeds a narrative that plays while a person runs. In the demo, a runner plays an adventure game by listening to instructions that tell him where to run and turn to perform steps in the game. The app was written by a grad student who was bored running the same old streets of his neighborhood. Sounds familiar. I wanted to try it but it's Android only. Another reason to dump the iPhone!
I'm back in NY so last night I thought I'd do a morning run in my neighborhood. When I got up I considered my mild cold and decided to do an indoor workout instead. It had been over a week since I'd cross trained so I did a shorter than normal elliptical session that generated a good sweat. If the weather is clear this weekend I'll try for a long base run as I train for the half marathon that's happening in three Sundays from now.
A project that came out of the Speech & Mobility group used location tracking on a smartphone that feeds a narrative that plays while a person runs. In the demo, a runner plays an adventure game by listening to instructions that tell him where to run and turn to perform steps in the game. The app was written by a grad student who was bored running the same old streets of his neighborhood. Sounds familiar. I wanted to try it but it's Android only. Another reason to dump the iPhone!
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Energy drinks. Really?
Today's run (street): 5.5 miles at 9:30 per mile
We're celebrating my daughter's 12th birthday today. Among other activities we made a visit to the local bowling lanes this morning. I'm not a fan of bowling, and no offense to those who are, but I have trouble viewing it as a sport. That's why I was so amused when we took a break so the kids could play some arcade games and saw this display of energy drinks in the vending machine.
Do you really need a 16 ounce can of Amp or RockStar to get you through the rigor of rolling a ball down a lane twenty times? Maybe so. My daughter and son wanted to bowl and I was expected to participate so I did my best. My wife is a good athlete and has no problems with the game but I have little skill with it. I quickly noticed that each time you take a turn the scoreboard displays the speed of the ball, presumably when it hits the pins. Now the game was interesting for me. We bowled two games and though I barely broke 100 each game I managed to improve my average speed from about 16 MPH to close to 20. I never did reach 20 but I came close - 19.86 MPH was my best of the day. With that, a good time was had by all.
Earlier today I went out for my first weekend run. I didn't have a great night's sleep and started with less energy than I normally have at 7:00 AM. I had no allusions of speed but I wanted to get some mileage in. I hadn't run more than four miles since last week's race so I figured today would be a day to do that. It was cool when I went out and I watched my heart rate to maintain a pace that kept me about 70% of max. No heroics for me, especially since the humidity was about to climb. I made my way over to neighborhood #2 where I did most of this morning's run. By 7:30 there were lots of people out, preparing for the day's activities, washing cars, walking dogs and running. I followed a different direction just for the change of scenery although it really just amounted to looking at different cars and houses. By the time I re-entered my neighborhood I had about 4 miles done and my heart rate had risen to over 80% of max. I covered another 1.5 miles before finishing with a total of five and a half. I then made a beeline to the pool for a cool-off dip. Perfect.
I'm not sure how much I'll run tomorrow. I'm thinking that a visit to Stillwell may be a nice change from the road and I'll see how I feel when I get up. In the meantime I'll enjoy the activities still to come as we continue the celebration of our daughter's birthday.
We're celebrating my daughter's 12th birthday today. Among other activities we made a visit to the local bowling lanes this morning. I'm not a fan of bowling, and no offense to those who are, but I have trouble viewing it as a sport. That's why I was so amused when we took a break so the kids could play some arcade games and saw this display of energy drinks in the vending machine.
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| An impressive display of energy drinks |
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| Next time I break 20! |
I'm not sure how much I'll run tomorrow. I'm thinking that a visit to Stillwell may be a nice change from the road and I'll see how I feel when I get up. In the meantime I'll enjoy the activities still to come as we continue the celebration of our daughter's birthday.
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Two good runs: one fast, one slow, both hot.
Yesterday's workout (Central Park): 3.25 miles at 8:52 per mile
Today's workout (street): 5.48 miles at 9:21 per mile
In terms of effort I'd say both today's and yesterday's runs were about even. It's hot today and it was hot in NYC yesterday when I trekked over to Central Park. I much prefer the cooler seasons for running but I also appreciate the way the trees and plants bloom in late spring and summer. The Park was filled with runners, cyclists and walkers when I arrived and I made my way over to the bike path on the lower loop to start my planned 3 mile run. My friend Steve had a conflict so he couldn't join me today so I decided to go it alone for a run that followed the lower and upper loops below the reservoir. I knew that the hardest part of the run would happen in the first half because a good part of that route is uphill.
Surprisingly, it took me about a mile to break a sweat but once I did I got REALLY hot. I cut across the Great Lawn and headed back down, hugging the shade and happy to know that a few downhills awaited me. I'd maintained a decent pace even with the uphill challenges and I passed a number of runners although I also got passed a couple of times near the end. By the time I returned to my starting point I was glad to finish, cool down and head back to the office. A meeting had spilled into my planned running window that caused my run+lunch timing to be very tight. I quickly changed, grabbed a fast bite and finished a minute before my 2:00 meeting. I was glad that I'd run an 8:52 pace or I might have ended up being late!
This morning I headed out for a neighborhood run with no planned route in mind. I intentionally ignored the Garmin because I didn't want to influence my pace in any way. Although it was hot and sunny I figured that I could a cover some good distance as long as I didn't push too hard. I did check my heart rate throughout the run to ensure I was keeping to around 80% of max. I traveled through my neighborhood roads and cut across to neighborhood #2 at the 2.5 mile mark. I chose some different streets that I hadn't run before, just for a change. I wound up covering 5.5 miles and finished feeling like I'd done a lot of work this morning. I need to work more on distance so I'm considering heading to Bethpage tomorrow to run the bike path where I can cover 8 to 10 miles out and back. Either that or a return to Stillwell to begin training for the next XTERRA race.
Today's workout (street): 5.48 miles at 9:21 per mile
In terms of effort I'd say both today's and yesterday's runs were about even. It's hot today and it was hot in NYC yesterday when I trekked over to Central Park. I much prefer the cooler seasons for running but I also appreciate the way the trees and plants bloom in late spring and summer. The Park was filled with runners, cyclists and walkers when I arrived and I made my way over to the bike path on the lower loop to start my planned 3 mile run. My friend Steve had a conflict so he couldn't join me today so I decided to go it alone for a run that followed the lower and upper loops below the reservoir. I knew that the hardest part of the run would happen in the first half because a good part of that route is uphill.
Surprisingly, it took me about a mile to break a sweat but once I did I got REALLY hot. I cut across the Great Lawn and headed back down, hugging the shade and happy to know that a few downhills awaited me. I'd maintained a decent pace even with the uphill challenges and I passed a number of runners although I also got passed a couple of times near the end. By the time I returned to my starting point I was glad to finish, cool down and head back to the office. A meeting had spilled into my planned running window that caused my run+lunch timing to be very tight. I quickly changed, grabbed a fast bite and finished a minute before my 2:00 meeting. I was glad that I'd run an 8:52 pace or I might have ended up being late!
This morning I headed out for a neighborhood run with no planned route in mind. I intentionally ignored the Garmin because I didn't want to influence my pace in any way. Although it was hot and sunny I figured that I could a cover some good distance as long as I didn't push too hard. I did check my heart rate throughout the run to ensure I was keeping to around 80% of max. I traveled through my neighborhood roads and cut across to neighborhood #2 at the 2.5 mile mark. I chose some different streets that I hadn't run before, just for a change. I wound up covering 5.5 miles and finished feeling like I'd done a lot of work this morning. I need to work more on distance so I'm considering heading to Bethpage tomorrow to run the bike path where I can cover 8 to 10 miles out and back. Either that or a return to Stillwell to begin training for the next XTERRA race.
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