Friday, August 8, 2008

Friday Group run. 19 miles.

Great run day for me- and everyone in the group. Mike W is showing great fitness and flying. Kay looks amazing and strong and should rock at IM Canada. BJ made a few adjustments since the video analysis and is immediately faster at the same HR.

For my own run- I felt great today and I finally feel the 'shift' in my fitness. I warmed-up 6 miles then ran 4 miles at my AeT HR (or my marathon race HR) and ran 22:36. 5:39 pace at HR 163, so a few beats below my marathon HR (and ~15 beats below LT).. This is a great sign for me- 18 weeks out from my race, at altitude, not rested and I'm hitting just near my goal pace at a lower HR. I say 'near' my goal pace as Canova believes that 97% of goal pace and you're building race specific endurance. 3% of my goal pace is 10" (97% is 5:40 per mile).
The adjustment for altitude is a tough one to figure. Alan has told me- for shorter efforts- to try to hit goal pace and not use an adjustment. The general rule of thumb ranges from 4"-10" per mile slower at altitude (ie: my 5:39 pace at altitude is 'worth' 5:35-5:29 pace at sea level). For my last couple of marathons I tried to train with an adjusted pace and I think this was a mistake. This time around I will try to run at my goal pace for Vegas which is 5:30 per mile.

pm) 8 miles- I ran through a blood sugar low which I have often thought doesn't really feel bad. Kind of a euphoria. The colors get brighter and my legs and arms feel numb... there was time when I would have paid good money for that feeling. After about 5 miles I ran straight out the other side and felt phenomenal.

2 comments:

Dave said...

It might be sick, but sometimes I really TRY to get that numb feeling. I feel like if I can make it through that in training, I can make it through whatever comes my way during a race.

And Vegas is a FANTASTIC time. I did it with my ex girlfriend two years ago and enjoyed every second of the 4 hours it took us to complete it together. One of these days I'll get back there to actually race it. Keep up the good training!

Lucho said...

I've always felt that 'bonking' in a workout wasn't the worst thing that could happen. At Kona I once bonked at Hawi (I rode with Steve Larsen to try to make the front pack, got within sight then blew up).. but then salvaged the day with a 2:58 marathon. Learning that feeling crappy isn't necessarily going to keep you from having a good day is a great lesson.