In the gym at 3am

Another early morning workout. Did a full body weight routine with emphasis on legs and core then an easy 5K run at a 5:45 pace.

5K today

Just a short one this morning at 3am , was feeling a little bit buzzed so I cut it short. Managed 5K at a 5:30 pace... good enough I guess.

Another 10 this morning

Just finished another 10K this morning , easy 5:30 pace. The balmy -29C outdoor temps made for a cool gym , 14C ! Started with a sweat shirt on , lost it at 1K then at 3K the compression shirt went... add a few more K and I was sweating pretty good! First K was at a 6:00 pace , gradually picked it up until I hit the 5:30 pace at 6K , at 8K I did one at a 4:30 pace then used the last K as a cool down.

10K at 2am , inside of course

Did most of my run somewhere between the Aerobic and Anaerobic zones. Started at a 6:00 pace and then over the next few K's I geared it up to a 4:45 pace. Held the faster pace for the last 6K of the run. First few "fast" Ks were a little hard then I relaxed into it, breathing wasn't to laboured and I felt pretty good! Tried to check the HR but the one built into the treadmill is so-so. Just at then end I managed to get a reading and it was 146 bpm but that was a few moments after I ramped it down from 12.6 kmh to 10.0 kmh.

I didn't really feel like running or doing anything! This is mid #2 , didn't sleep very well today ... typical response to switching the sleep patterns around. I was having perpetual running dreams ... 5K in 19:58! I will sleep better today!

My training zones ...

Found a cool little calculator , results are ...

Heart rate zones
My resting heart rate is: 58 My maximum heart rate is: 177


Long, slow runs, easy or recovery runs; 60-70% 129 - 141 bpm
Training in this zone improves the ability of your heart to pump blood and improve the muscles' ability to utilize oxygen. The body becomes more efficient at feeding the working muscles, and learns to metabolise fat as a source of fuel.

Aerobic zone or "target heart rate zone" 70-80% 141 - 153bpm
Most effective for overall cardiovascular fitness. Increases your cardio-respitory capacity: that is, the your ability to transport oxygenated blood to the muscle cells and carbon dioxide away from the cells. Also effective for increasing overall muscle strength.

Anaerobic zone 80-90% 153 - 165 bpm
The point at which the body cannot remove lactic acid as quickly as it is produced is called the lactate threshold or anaerobic threshold. It generally occurs at about 80-88% of the Heart Rate Reserve. Training in this zone helps to increase the lactate threshold, which improves performance. Training in this zone is hard: your muscles are tired, your breathing is heavy.

VO2 max "Red line zone" 90-100% 165 - 177 bpm
You should only train in this zone if you re very fit, and only for very short periods of time. Lactic acid develops quickly as you are operating in oxygen debt to the muscles The value of training in this zone is you can increase your fast twitch muscle fibers which increase speed.

23K LSD today

23K +365m/-342m at an average Heart Rate of 139 bpm. I kept an eye on the heart rate throughout the run keeping it at less then 140 bpm. Here is an interesting comparison...

Jan 23 , 23.01 km, Time 2:18:00 , Avg Pace 5:59, Avg Heart Rate 150 bpm

Feb 02, 23.01 km, Time 2:22:56 , Avg Pace 6:12, Avg Heart Rate 139 bpm

Still working on base building , in the scheme of things it really didn't make a huge difference running at 77% of Max HR vs 83%. On an interesting note I wore a pedomerter today , it redistered 21,484 steps...23K obviously my stride is a little over a meter.

Weather was great for a run today , as good as it gets for February. Sunny , a Southerly breeze and temps just above freezing.... and today the wind cooperated and didn't switch around , NICE! The LSD was bit easier , this is the 4th in 5 weeks. Started a 20 on the treadmill, then an 18 on the road then 2 23K Durham loops.

Jan mileage was 159.5K , Feb goal is 200K with at least 4 23K LSDs. March will be the same or a little more then Feb. The new season isnt that far away.

The Refrigee Eighter is less then 2 weeks away , I am thinking defiantly under a 5:00 pace , more towards a 4:45 average. I wont be hard to beat last years time!!!!

Base Building

Yesterday , Sunday I stopped in at work on the way to get groceries. Did a 10K run on the treadmill, not to a specific pace but to heart rate. Started at 124 bpm and ended at 127 bpm, pace was 5:30 / min. The more of this sort of running I do the more I believe in what I am doing!