Tuesday, January 23, 2007

1/22/2007 Long Run

After some consideration regarding the lactate threshold I've come to a couple of conclusions. The first is that there is little to know chance that I'll get the professional testing done in the near future if ever. The second is that just knowing this information was a wakeup call. I went back and re-examined the training plan that I pulled from the Flying Pig Marathon with fresh eyes. It does say to run the long runs at about a 1-2 minute slower pace than you plan on running the marathon. I decided to take this into consideration for my long run this week.

I decided to go hamster-style on the treadmill today. It's cold and there is still a lot of ice on the roads and sidewalks. The gym is available so I am taking advantage. I was concerned that it would be really boring. It really wasn't so bad. I had my iPod with a new episode of Phedippidations for an hour, and then some music to pick up the last 30 minutes. Running on the treadmill gave me the opportunity to park the pace at a 9:13 pace to see how I felt at that pace and what my heart rate would do at that pace.

I felt very good at that pace. My breathing was very easy, and my heart rate stayed in the 130's. Judging by that I think I have a good pace that is probably sub-lactate threshold. It is about 1 1/2 to 2 minutes below my goal pace, so it fulfills all the criteria for a good long run pace. When I get back out on the road I'll try to hold it to 130's to low 140's for long runs from now on.

I couldn't keep it down the whole time. Running at a slower pace the whole time was kind of boring so I kicked on the last mile up to a 7:15 pace. It was nice to know that after 9 miles I had plenty of gas left to kick it. More evidence that the 9 minute pace is a good long run pace.

Total Time: 1:30.00
Avg hr: 137
Peak hr: 165
Min hr: 107
Total Cal 1163
9:13 Pace Miles
7:15 Pace - Last Mile

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