Tuesday, February 5, 2008

Staying Honest

Yesterday I posted that I'm scratching my ultra-fast tempo runs. I'm replacing them with 'honest effort' runs where I run relatively hard, but still far from being an all out effort.

I know everybody is still going to call this "ultra fast," but I swear its not! The difference? Heart rate. On my previous tempo runs my heart rate would be 180-185 bpm; indicating I'm past my lactic threshold. Today, however, I kept my heart rate lower, 170-175 bpm. As a result, I still felt surprisingly fresh at the end, as opposed to wanting to keel over!

Call that my disclaimer. Call these the numbers:

7:37 (152 bpm, warmup)
6:43 (170 bpm, lets rock!)
6:28 (173 bpm)
6:23 (170 bpm)
6:11 (174 bpm)
6:58 (170 bpm, cooldown... sort of)

'Honest' HR: 172 bpm
'Honest' pace: 6:26/mile

Things I noticed:
  • Perfect negative splits. Every mile got faster. Right on!
  • Very similar to my tempo run a few weeks ago, but I didn't have to work as hard!
  • Running fast is fun!
  • I always get 'velocitized' on quick runs, unless I go 100% all out. Its like getting off the express way and accidentally speeding through town. I tend to do that on cool downs. And when I get off the express way.
The bad news? I think I could run like that for 9 miles. On the 9th.

5 comments:

Jess said...

Well, phooey. I guess that means you'll beat me on Saturday!

Nancy said...

Suprisingly fresh? You dog. I mean, GOOD FOR YOU!! hee hee.

Stuart said...

Steady tiger, don't over do it. I am only saying that so I can catch ya, and then push you over as I pass by.

Seriously, nice numbers!

Bill Carter said...

Hey man.

Thanks for checking in on me. Family and work are a time consuming combination that make we wish for longer days and more energy to get it all done.

I think the tri is the thing for you. I know you are a great runner, but the way you seem to love that bike makes it a necessary part of your training. I've said it before, but I think you could be nationally competitive as a tri guy. Who knows??

All is well with me and I will find the time to post this week. Actually kind of enjoying the taper this time.

Marcy said...

Shiznit. I guess I'm toast as well . . .oh wait never mind you're competing with the dudes and last I check I don't have a package :P

But you always do neg splits, right? Most times I notice you do . . .