Run update, 4/8/05

The road run went well! I wasn't as fast there as I was on the track, but it usually works out that way. I have a sneaking suspicion that the track isn't quite a 1/2 mile. Either that, or my car's odometer doesn't quite measure distance accurately. I'm not sure which, and it could be both. I can't exactly drive the jogging track to find out, so I'm just going to have to go with what's posted there, and accept that I may not be as fast as I think. Or I may be faster than I think, if I choose to believe my car instead. :)

At any rate, the route that I took Friday was 2.3 miles in my car. I ran 1.8 miles of it in 25:03, for an average speed of 4.3 mph. I walked the other 1/2 mile in 8:46 (3.4 mph), for a total time of 33:49. Average speed for the entire distance ended up at around 4.1 mph.

Average HR looked better (down one bpm to 162), time in zone looked worse (10:29, down from 12 minutes & change). When I checked the monitor as I was walking, though, my HR was at 117. Because I wanted to start running after the 4-way stop, there were a full 6.5 minutes of warmup (the last 2 were without music, to keep the 25-minute run intact). So I was actually over 170 for around 16 minutes.

I don't think I know anymore how to get it lower, or even if it matters all that much. The thought of doing actual research doesn't fill me with glee, so I'm just grabbing pieces of advice here and there. Rob says that if all I'm ever wanting to run is a 5k, then keeping my HR elevated for 30-40 minutes isn't a really big deal--it's a sprint distance. However, I don't want to spend my entire life feeling wiped out after a 3-mile run. So apparently, the key is going to be longer recovery runs/workouts between the 5k sprints.

But let's stop there a minute. I have a really, really hard time accepting a 5k sprint. I know athletes do it, but I have never been nor will I ever be an athlete. What's even harder to accept than a 5k sprint distance is a 4.8 mph sprint speed. That's not a sprint, in my mind--it's a...what's a good term? Endurance pace? It's freakin' slow, is what it is. And yet, it's as fast as I can go right now without my heart exploding, so really, it is my sprint speed.

I don't like being slow, is really the problem. I don't want to be a world-class runner or anything, but I don't like being lapped by kids on push scooters either.

So now I'm at a crossroads, sort of. In order to get my cardio conditioning to improve, I need to start doing longer workouts at a lower HR between the 5k "sprints". I've been doing that some, with the long walks on strength days. Still, I have a hard time not worrying over my sustained 170s & 180s on the running days, because it doesn't seem healthy to me. Of course, I'm neither an athlete nor a cardiologist, so what do I know?

I should probably read a book or something. I just need to find one that won't put me to sleep.