in the zone
oh, the ups and downs of training... and trying to train right. I knew that if I wanted to put up a big goal to shoot for, and actually make it, I'd have to get some help training for it. So I did. I've been reading about running, talking to people about running, gone to running clinics, and had workouts with a coach. Before all this, I knew that it was good to have a long slow run about once a week. But I didnt know how long, or for that matter, how slow.
After joining up with a local run group, I got a schedule of distances to cover before the race. The schedule works up to about 24km, which should be done 3 weeks before the race. Cool. Distance, check. Now for the slow part. With prompting from the coach, christmas money burning its way out of my pocket, and a geek's love of gadgets, I got a heart rate monitor. After setting it up, (then RTFM) then setting it up again, I wore it during this weeks run. And, as a result, I found out that slow really does mean slow. The optimal heart rate range for long slow distance runs is 65 to 75%. and running that slow is pretty difficult. Especially when you have 18km to run, and you dont want to take all day. It took all day. I could have finished the run in less time than 2 hours and 15 minutes. But they tell me it is better this way. I guess we'll see in a couple of months.
a year to forget
I officially have about a year to forget just how bad the weather for this race was. I wish I could do it again without the weather being so much of a factor. I was on a great pace, and the wind just killed me on the last hill. Actually, a lot of things went really well in this race, my legs felt great (better than any run I've had in weeks) and I kept up a decent pace for a long time. My result is posted at
roadraceresults. I came in 38th overall.
Recovering is a bit of a different story. My lungs and abs arent yet back to normal. So between that and the weather, I would say that I wouldn't bother with this race again next year. That is, unless I forget.
Planning for vacation... I'm looking forward to the trip, partly because of the Giro d'Italia. Turns out there is a great big bike race going on while we are there. And we may even go watch part of it. I'm thinking of watching either the start or the end of the Team Time Trial, but I've never been a spectator at a bike race before, so I'm not sure if that is the best place to be.
pattern?
Hey, so... posts seem to be coming pretty much weekly. Or is it weakly? At least it is consistant, if not constant.
In running this week, I ran an all time high of 17km. And it took just under two hours. I know for sure I could have done it in less time, but the new twist this week was that I went out and got myself
one of these... (a heart rate monitor). So while using it, I found myself having to slow down pretty often, because I was running too fast, and my heart rate was above the long slow running range. Anyways, the 8M race is next weekend at Rim Park. Here is hoping for nice weather.
In other news, the two cats we adopted from the humane society went in to get spayed. They are recovering well, it has been almost a week and they are nearly back up to top speed.
We're starting to plan our vacation. Italy in May. Should be nice.
11 weeks to go
I ran 15k on saturday. It was a good thing I did too, because as soon as I was done, it started snowing. It hasn't stopped since.
So with all this long distance running, I start to have to eat something while I run. Now, totally running out of energy isnt something that I have experienced, nor do I want to. The thing is, I can't really tell if my running is being hurt by not eating until it is too late. I'm pretty much going on the advice of the coach when he says eat a gel at 45 minutes, and every 30 minutes after that. Now, there are lots of different gels and stuff like that, so how can I pick? Everyone has a different opinion. They all say 'experiment, figure out what works for you.' Ok. I've tried the power bar gel on a couple of runs, and it was ok, but kinda tough to eat. Next I'm going to try gummi bears. Yep, those gummi bears. I've heard they work, and it stands to reason... I mean, they are simple sugar. Granted, they dont have caffiene, or electrolytes or the Florida Gators as test subjects, but they are cheap. Anyway, the funny thing is that I was searching the net to find out if other runners have done a comparison between gels and gummi bears, and got a page full of links to breast implants. Way to go google.
