Fall Classic training – Week 3 – An experiment of one
| 29/10 | XT | 60 min yoga class |
| 30/10 | 7.1 miles | Speedwork: 8x800m (~1:05 walk), min 3:57, max 4:09 |
| 31/10 | 3.0 miles | Easy run: avg 10:00 min/mile (treadmill) & yoga class |
| 01/11 | 7.0 miles | Tempo run (medium): 5 miles @ 8:41/8:36/8:35/8:27/8:22 |
| 02/11 | - | Rest day |
| 03/11 | 12.0 miles | Long run: avg 9:54 min/mile, 172 bpm |
| 04/11 | 3.1 miles | Recovery run: avg 10:24 min/mile, 153 bpm |
| Total | 32.2 miles | YTD: 973.1 miles |
I have a confession to make. I train at a ridiculously high heart rate. My long run on Saturday was done at an average of 172 bpm. That’s 88.7% of my 2007 maximum recorded heart rate of 194 bpm. I hit that during my 23:19 5K personal best in September. I ran my last half marathon at an average of 182 bpm (93.8% of max). During the 5 tempo miles I did on Thursday I averaged 181 bpm (93.3%). Runner’s World tells me I should be doing long runs at 65-75% of max, tempo runs at 87-92% and a half marathon race at 85-88%. That would mean not going over 145 bpm on a long run. Frankly, that’s impossible, I’m usually at 150 after a few minutes of running. A few things could be going on here (1) 194 may not be my actual max heart rate, (2) since I usually feel pretty comfortable on my long runs I may just run at a high heart rate or (3) I may just be training wrong.
On Sunday I opened myself up to the possibility of number 3 above. I did a flat recovery run with the primary goal of keeping my heart rate below 165 bpm. I had to look at my Garmin every minute to adjust my pace but I resisted all temptation to look at the clock. I didn’t want to have any knowledge of my pace. The run felt pedestrian but I managed to do 3.15 miles at an average of 153 bpm. My pace was 10:24 bpm which is frankly faster than it felt. So I’ve proved that at least over short distances I can get my heart rate to stay relatively low. That’s good to know.
Dr George Sheehan is often quoted for saying “each runner is an experiment of one.” As a statistician I find this very appealing. Sure, there are general rules that apply to training but only you can figure out what works for you. That takes experimentation. I’m not going to change anything in the next two weeks before the half marathon. I probably should get a good estimate of my resting heart rate though so that I can calculate my heart rate reserve. Maybe I really do need to train slower in order to race faster. I’ve definitely got some things to think about!