Training Log Archive: Run_Bosco

To/from gym.

Additional warm-up at the gym.

There are a lot of different types of elliptical machines at the club, and I've only tried two kinds (and only two particular machines). I could sample all the different types, but I quite like the user interface of the second machine I tried, so I am partial to it. Also, it's not parked in front of a tv, which I like.

I'm not sure how I like the actual motion of it though. Although I don't think I'm going to branch out unless I'm forced to by someone being on my favorite machine.

C • Elliptical 3

So, I didn't make it until next week before doing my strength routine again, which I'm not sure whether I should be doing on my easy week or not. Hopefully it's not a mistake, because I think that the holidays coming up will cause extra rest days anyway.

If I had thought of it sooner, I would have scheduled some yoga classes into my week this week. Ah well, next time.

Run to/from the gym

Elliptical time! Trying to put more white in my bar chart down there.

Listened to the Fraekonomics podcast about cheeseburgers.

It's my rest week. A plain ol' run around the neighborhood.

I tried out the RunKeeper app, and I think I like it. Will see how it works for an interval workout.

"taken from Daniels’ Running Formula (Human Kinetics): "A tempo run is nothing more than 20 minutes of steady running at threshold pace." (He goes on to say that 20 minutes is ideal, but may be varied to suit the needs of a particular course.) Without getting too technical, threshold pace is the effort level just below which the body’s ability to clear lactate, a by-product of carbohydrate metabolism, can no longer keep up with lactate production. Daniels states that this pace is, for most people, about 25 to 30 seconds per mile slower than current 5K race pace.

Exercise physiologist and coach Pete Pfitzinger adds: "For very fit runners, the pace is between 15K and half-marathon race pace." For those fond of using heart rate monitors, Daniels notes that tempo runs are done at 90% of maximum. However, most runners seem to find it easier to use running speed as a guide.

For those who have neither HRMs nor marked courses at their disposal, Daniels stresses that the effort associated with a tempo run should be "comfortably hard"—one that could be maintained for an hour in a race."


...so my pace at the beginning of Sunday's trail run was actually too fast to be tempo.

Thank you to PinkSocks for suggesting today's trail run!

My goal was to treat it as a tempo, and in combination with yesterday's race, treat it as a back-to-back workout that simulated Sprint Camp a little bit.

First 30% of the run:
Ran a 5k effort and tailed the leaders with Patrick.

Next 40% of the run:
Okay, I'm on my own now. Running at (slower) orienteering race pace instead of 5k race pace. Wondering if I can run faster, but am pretty sure I can't.

Next 20% of the run:
Confused about where to go and caught by the middle pack. Get mixed in with them and my heart rate comes down a bit thanks to the short rest, except on the stairs.

Last 10% of the run:
Got separated again, and nearly bought a map from the Visitor Center (which is laughably close to the finish, apparently), but them I'm caught by the last group.


Learning moment: lately, while racing in both cyclocross and orienteering, I have often felt like I'm stuck in a slower gear and that I should be able to go faster, but just can't. I know that I'm not at my fastest right now, but still, the sensation has sort of bothered me.

Then it hit me. The heart rate at which I switch into anaerobic is lower than it used to be. I have the data.

In 2012, my moderate zone ended at 171 and my high zone at 184.
In 2013 (was it really only a year later? I thought it was more later), my moderate zone ended at 166 and high zone at 176.

I lost 5 beats of the top end of my moderate zone and 8 beats (!) of the top end of my high zone. That is NOT just age.

Of course weight is part of it. I'm 22lbs heavier than my post-college stable weight (and don't expect to ever hit my college weight again). But I don't think that's the whole picture. I have also spent vastly less time at a high heart rate.

I need to push my anaerobic threshold back up, and do it with some tempo running. Weight will follow.

So now I'm conflicted about whether it's more worthwhile to do longer tempo sessions or the shorter intervals I've been doing.