the hardest runs i do
I finished my last “hard” run today. Ask me how happy I am about that. REALLY HAPPY! Those suckers have gotten TOUGH!
Prior to Red Deer Marathon, most of my “hard” runs were 60 minutes long. The goal with those was to warm up (roughly 10 - 15 minutes), run at 170bpm for up to 40 minutes, and then cool down for the last few minutes.
As I’ve progressed along the Regina plan, the hard workouts (at least two each week) have become much more focused. They’ve also gotten longer and more difficult.
-the first progression was to reduce target heart rate to 165 but extend the overall workout to 90 minutes.
-the second progression was to run 70 of the 90 minutes @ 170bmp - 85% of my max heart rate.
-the final progression was to run the 70 minutes @ 175bpm - 88% of max heart rate.
The second progression was very difficult and, as you can imagine, the final progression has been really challenging. I had a heckuva time with them and, I’ll honestly say I haven’t been 100% successful maintaining 175bpm for the entire 70 minutes.
And that’s ok since Andrew’s instructions said “if ready” and, I interpreted this to mean, “If you can’t go 70 minutes @ 175, reduce to 170bpm or shorten the time running” (the latter option being less desirable than the former).
Today, I came close, managing 59 minutes at 175bpm. Truthfully, I’m a bit pissed at myself for not pushing for those last 11 minutes. Why? Because it was the first 1/2 of the run that was tough - demoralizing actually - not the second half. My left calf was giving me all kinds of trouble in the first 40 minutes of that run so I chose to turn around earlier than initially planned.
I could have turned around again to sneak in those 11 minutes but, when I got home I decided it was probably just as well to pack it in thinking my calf was complaining for a reason and those 11 minutes would not benefit me all that much.
Still, it would have been a terrific mental victory to finish the whole damn thing. Oh well, I’ve had plenty of other victories this past few months … I think I’ll save the next one for race day.
Details
Time: 79:57 (target was 90 minutes)
Distance: 2.42 mile warmup + 8.045 miles “hard” (10.47 total)
Pace: 21 minute warmup @ 8:40 min/mile + 58:57 @ 7:20 min/mile (7:38 min/mile overall)
Avg HR: 172 during the “hard” section
Two more days of training left before the taper - one easy, 95 minute run + one long, three hour run.
Comment by Juls
Friday August 24, 2007 @
I often make a decision to cut a workout short and then wonder if I should have returned to the original plan. When I don’t, it is usually a blessing. Trust your instints. You’ve done well. Congratulations