Thursday, March 29, 2012

Epic.

That's the word the younguns would use to describe this mornings run.


I am traveling to DC and so Jill moved the Sunday run to today since I could not spare 3+ hours on Sunday when I am in DC. Last night I had two bowls of pasta with artichoke-olive sauce in preparation.


For the first time in a looong while, I got up early (6am) to get the run done and not be into work too late. It was cloudy so no stars out and also not as cold as it normally would be. There was no wind.


I had my stuff ready before I went to bed so I was out the door in a few minutes....still feeling sleepy. After a quarter mile I was at my favorite stretching place and glanced at my watch and saw the pace was in the 12:xx range! Yikes! I though I was running pretty fast but the Garmin said nope.


After stretching for a minute or two I continued and found it very hard to speed up. I was wearing my Kinvaras (with my new lift in left shoe) for the first time in a while..my left foot issue seemed to be pretty cleared up after wearing the Brooks Launches and I wanted to see if I could get back into the K's for base pace runs. (I'll still use the Brooks for hard runs).


The Brooks are cushy, but I don't want to get too used to cushy ..bad old  AT got started from doing that.  Also the Brooks are HEAVY: almost 2 oz heavier than the K's. They also absorb more water in the rain becoming even heavier (the Kinvaras have these really nice mesh uppers that don't hold water). 


I was a bit worried that the K's would make my feet hurt or something so I did a first minor loop of 7 miles that would give me a chance to swing by the house and change shoes if I needed to.


Eventually, I warmed up and was able to speed up to high base pace by mile 4. After the first 5-6 miles I could tell I was in some kind of zone... the HRs were way low for that pace. You may recall my 13 mile run where this happened...but that was at a low base pace.

SplitDistPaceHR% WHR CadYPB
11.009:5111455.7891.568
21.009:3312463.9891.486
31.009:2412262.3891.536
41.009:0312363.1891.581
51.009:0212363.1891.585
61.009:1512262.3891.561
71.009:1511959.8881.599
81.009:1212060.7891.595
91.009:0112060.7881.625
101.009:0812262.3881.580
111.009:3112060.7871.541
121.009:1812060.7871.576
131.009:1812262.3871.551
141.009:3112564.8871.479
151.009:0412564.8871.554
161.009:1312564.8881.528
171.008:5013371.3891.498
181.009:0213774.6891.421
191.008:3513673.8891.508
201.008:4913774.6891.457
Sum20.09:11124.364.288.31.540

This continued for the entire run...I just could not believe how good I felt clicking off these 9:xx miles with crazy low HRs. From miles 9 to 14 I was on trails and this didn't even mess things up.

I was wondering if I should push the last few miles as I normally would do...but I was going pretty fast already and in the K's too..so far so good but might I  regret it later?

When I got to mile 16 I said F-it and dropped my little sub-9 minute 'hammer': when you are feeling so good it's time to push.  The last 4 miles felt great..at no time did I feel like I was going all-out. Mile 18 was a bit slower but there is the 50' pedestrian overpass climb done there. The left foot was fine during and now, after.

This run was a great confidence builder...it is my most efficient 18+ mile  run ever...I am starting to believe I can hit 3:55 at Eugene.

9 comments:

  1. Your heart rate for your pace is crazy good. My HR would go through the roof at that pace. Do you know your max or LT HR? At 11:00 pace I seem to be around 150-155.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Kepa,
      My max HR is 168 (measured on treadmill by a doctor doing a brutal test)

      In the table above I list my WHR or 'working heart rate' percent at each pace.

      My resting HR is 46, so my WHR is 168 - 46 or 122 bpm.
      I.e. my functional range is 122bpm from torpor to maxed out 8)

      Everybody is different in this...

      Delete
  2. Hey Paul..
    Just walked in the door from a day up (and down) Pikes Peak when I read your email. Had to rush over to see what an awesome run you had :). Looks like it's time to change up the paces a bit :). I think when you nail a long run, you feel like you're invincible, they are one run that can really mess with our psyche. I have no doubt you can run a sub 3:55 - so excited for you!!

    Will be in touch tonight after I can pull up the plans. Sorry about Dublin! :(

    ReplyDelete
  3. Awesome run, Paul! Those are the big confidence builders and something to grab onto in Eugene.

    The Kinvaras were a disaster for me, but I know so many people who love them. Hope they work for you!

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  4. Paul, that was an amazing run and your heart rate is just crazy low. I believe every time I've checked mine it is in the 150 - 165 range, and that feels "comfortable" to me. Our resting heart rates are similar, but I definitely have a way to go to fall in line with your numbers. You are SO going to rock Eugene...I can't wait to read about your "epic" race !

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Michael,
      Yes, but what is your Max? If it is higher than mine your 150 could be the same as my 120 at 9 minutes.

      the 220-age formula for max can be way off for some people...(for me it is damn close it turned out)

      Delete
  5. You are going to do so well in Eugene!!

    Can I ask what time you are hoping to be going for in Berlin?
    It is supposed to be one of the fastest....

    Hope my long run tomorrow goes as good as your run :-)

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  6. I love reading your posts Paul...It is obvious from an outsider how much more excited and pumped you get from the tone and mood of the post. It is exciting for us to follow along on your journey and watch your get faster, stronger, and mentally ready...Keep it going!

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  7. That food looks GOOD!

    What a fantastic workout. You are really progressing through the cycle well! It looks like you will be able to meet that time goal to me :).

    When the HR gets too low, time to work harder :)!

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