Winter runs, week of January 17th-23rd

[eclectic]

Haven't run this week (sick for 3 days) but I did break down and order the Jeff Galloway Gym boss interval timer. I tried for 6 months to find one locally and no go.

I will now have more freedom on the track or trail and not have to continually check my watch for time or be locked to the treadmill.

I have been doing 1 min walk at 3.8 and 1.5 min run at 5.2 to get back into it. I can do this for over 4 miles which I think is good for not running since last April and just starting again after Christmas.

I am excited to use the timer now and get on the track and go at a natural pace and see how far I go in the same length of time.

Weather here is ok to go outside but now it is way too icy and I am not going to risk it.

So that is what is happening here!

[Aggie_Ama]

My heart rate is really high too. I can talk in short sentences well into the 170's. Yesterday on my 7 mile run I average 178 with a max of 187. I thought it was because I am out of shape. I plan to get my VO2 tested before marathon training.

On a side note my mom is giving me my first pair of real running (not big box sports store) shoes for my birthday next month! I just have to figure out which of the many running stores in town I want to go to. I am stoked to finally get my gait analyzed and get the right shoes six weeks before the half mary.

[colby]

I am very similar to Veronica on the heart rate thing. My LTHR for running is upwards of 185 - +10 of that would be a HARD interval (also hard to get that high very quickly) and +20 would be my theoretical maximum. Most intervals are ran to reach that threshold and sustain as long as possible. For biking, it's maybe 5 BPM lower, though when I'm actually riding on the road, they are much closer. For some reason on the trainer I test lower.

I didn't run this weekend - went snowboarding instead. I felt it on the bike today.

[indigoiis]

Hi all, I ran 4.8 today, it was a good run. Have a great day today!

[fatbottomedgurl]

I want to have my VO2 tested also. I scanned through my runs for the last 8 weeks and my average heart rate is 173. These are 30-60 minutes runs. Max gets up to 193 on a hill and that is not quite at the "puking stage." When I mountain bike I can get up to 205 but try not to because that is when I see stars and little birdies fly around my head.

[eclectic]

I didn't run today but I DID go snowshoeing for the first time!
I think I like it

[Grog]

Nice 5 km run this morning, total darkness still. I can't wait until it starts to get a little light at, say, 6:15 a.m. Ran faster than I should have but I wanted to see if I could do it. I can!

My HR is up there with Veronica, Colby and Aggie_Ama. I don't use the HRM anymore but about two years ago my max (doing running hill reps) was over 200, at which point I was about ready to puke. (Don't try that on your own!) I probably train in the high 160s to high 170s a lot of the time, and a big effort would be 185 or so. I've stopped worrying about it, for the most part anyway. My resting HR is normal to low, so whatever.

[colby]

I didn't run today but I DID go snowshoeing for the first time!
I think I like it

I want to try snowshoeing so I can take my dog out on some walks that are "efforts" like hiking is - something that wears her out, slowly but surely. I think she'd like it, she loves to walk and be in the snow.

I took her with me and did mile repeats today, probably slower than I do when I do them myself, she's good through the first one but the second one starts to drag a little and the third requires coaxing and promise of "doggies" up ahead. My legs are still feeling the different muscle use of snowboarding (the long calf muscle and the glutes, my shoulders and arms - or maybe that was yesterday's yoga) so it wasn't bad to take it a LITTLE easier. The GPS wasn't picking up distance for some reason even though it did have my pace, so I estimated. All in all, a great and tiring 45 minutes.

There is a really interesting page about Ironman Coeur d'Alene that someone linked on twitter that shows all the nerdly stats about what the averages are for each age group (http://triathlongeek.com/analytics/2009coeurdalene/). I am... an average Ironman cyclist for my age group, a slower swimmer, and a much slower runner. This year, I am aspiring to be average - it's within reach! I don't think qualifying for Kona is in my future for quite some time.

[indigoiis]

Ran 3.1 on the treadmill at the Y, "speed" training. I just ran faster for .25 mile, then slower for .25 mile, for about 30 minutes, 3.1 miles total.

[Grog]

Went for another run this morning, slowly making my way around a very lush and posh neighbourhood around here, looking at the mansions in the night. I love the quiet streets of the morning. About 6.6 km. Nice way to start the day.

[Jolt]

I am always amazed by other people's heart rate numbers.

I did a 5.32 mile run yesterday with an average heart rate of 172. I like looking at how fast it drops though. I had to wait at a few lights yesterday and it dropped from 170 to 145 or so at each one.

Then there's the top of the hill where it maxed at 182!

Veronica

If you think that's high...I haven't worn my HRM on a run in a while but I routinely run in the 170s to 180s. Max is 211 according to VO2max test I had a couple of years ago as part of a research study. Now, I'm only 26 but still--that's on the high side.

[GLC1968]

Did 2.5 miles on the treadmill last night. I got my new (and working!) HRM yesterday, so I finally got recent HR data for running. I did my last 12/18 run (run/walk) and as should be expected, I was in the watch defined zone 3 for 12 minutes. Avg HR was 139 with a peak at 165. My run interval averages were around 144. I need to read up on how to manually adjust the settings in the watch, but I did input my max HR and age before I started.

Anyway, way more exciting is that I tried something totally new last night! When I first started, I ran for 3 minutes barefoot. I did one minute at 4 mph, 1 min at 5 mph and 1 min at 6 mph...with NO foot pain. It was really fun and I found getting into the Chi Running technique extremely natural and easy without the shoes.

Then I did the 12/18 workout. Near the end (the last two walking intervals), my foot started to hurt in the usual spot. I thought maybe that it was from the barefoot experiement, so I tried another one. As soon as I hit 30 minutes, I kicked off my shoes and ran another two minutes barefoot. The pain disappeared immediately! I'm sold.

Today I'm going to buy some cheap insoles for my running shoes so that I can lose my orthotics. I threw away all the insoles for all my athletic shoes ages ago because I was told to ALWAYS wear my orthotics. I'll use my same running shoes minus the orthotics until I can condition my feet/legs to the barefoot thing (and for cold winter runs until I can get something else).

Oh, and today my lower legs are kind of achey and tired (like after a day of walking at an amusement park all day) but my feet feel great!

[indigoiis]

GLC - that's great! I went from the Podiatrist telling me I needed surgery to never looking back at shoe'd running. For winter I use my VFFs or scuba booties. And that all-day-amusement-park ache is just the muscles waking up. Your achilles will start to get used to the action and your calf muscles will strengthen. It's wonderful! Oh, and your feet get really strong, too!

[fatbottomedgurl]

I'm about ready to try the barefoot thing too. Might start out in some water socks. I'll let you know. I never know when TE is going to send me into some new obsession. First it was wool, then triathlons...

[Aggie_Ama]

After a terrible day at work all I wanted was a good run. I planned an hour but forgot why I can't wear shorts when I am this heavy - my thighs! I stopped at 41 minutes when my rubbing thighs got unbearable. Just a forgettable day all together. It happens, right?