Friday, June 27, 2008

Slow Down To Go Faster

I did a 3-mile tempo run today. Except I stopped after 2.75 miles because I was so worn out. I walked for a bit, and then sprinted the last 0.21 miles, hitting a new top speed (6:55 miles!) and running the whole shebang at a 7:50 pace.

I just think these numbers look weird.

Mile 1: 10:19, 143 bpm

This is usual for my first mile - a decent pace and a low heart rate.

Mile 2: 10:49, 157 bpm

Slower pace, higher heart rate - I am working harder. Plus there are more and larger hills in this mile.

Mile 3: 11:01, 160 bpm

This is the reverse of Mile 1, basically - it has at least two good uphills in it, but still - my heart rate is 160 and all I can manage is 11:01??

THEN, after a short walk:

Mile 0.21: 7:50, 160 bpm

So - my heart rate is the same as it was when I was pooping out bigtime, yet my pace is more than 2 minutes per mile faster? And BTW I felt great during this sprint. The rest seemed to be just what I needed to regroup.

What is this about? Is it just the course I'm running? Is there nothing really all that mysterious here and I'm just reading too much into it?

I know I run best after I've been running for about 30 minutes. Miles 4 to 7 have always been my "best" in any longer run. I feel good, am warmed up and loose, and my body has adjusted to running.

Anyway...the full stats are 31:04, 2.96 miles, 10:29 pace, 153 bpm and 601 calories burned.

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