4.19m at CH (Repeats)

4.19m at 9.44 pace w/ Avg HR of 155 (Zone 2, 79.6% of max)

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Mile Splits:
10.27/149
8.95/152
9.20/159
9.52/160
1.63/163 (8.58 pace)

Splits in Intervals:

Split/Time/Dist/Pace/AvgHR/Max/HR
1/0:10:12/1/10:12/132/177
2/0:01:00/0.15/6:46/156/166
3/0:03:00/0.28/10:43/147/167
4/0:01:00/0.15/6:48/157/169
5/0:03:00/0.29/10:28/151/169
6/0:01:00/0.15/6:31/161/173
7/0:03:00/0.29/10:27/153/174
8/0:01:00/0.16/6:24/165/176
9/0:03:00/0.29/10:24/156/176
10/0:01:00/0.16/6:16/169/181
11/0:03:00/0.3/10:04/160/181
12/0:01:00/0.17/5:48/175/185
13/0:03:00/0.29/10:11/164/186
14/0:05:24/0.52/10:27/158/165

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This was a 1mile/1min/3min/1mile speedwork session where I just ran the 1 minute "really fast" and backed way off on the 3 minute recoveries (10min/mile+). I also cut the cooldown about a quarter to a third of a mile short because I didn't want to skyrocket the HR going up the hill to the house.

I was a little surprised when I saw those interval paces above...I didn't realize I was running that fast, especially the sub-6min/mile one. I also liked that my later intervals were faster than the earlier ones.

4.50m on Treadmill (Repeats)

4.50m at 8.52 pace w/ Avg HR of 157

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9.52/141
7.27/168
8.40/159
8.40/164
4.73/154 (9.50 pace)
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This was a 1/1/.50/1/1 repeat run where I did the fast repeats at 7:19 pace (Why the odd number? That's what the treadmill had between 7:26 and 7:13.)

I basically did this exact same run last Tuesday except the repeats were a hair slower (repeat 1 was at 7:30 pace instead of 7:19). This was a better speed this time because it worked my HR a little more, as would be expected out of interval/repeats.

4.50m at the Treadmill (repeats)

4.50m @ 8.61 pace w/ Avg HR of 153 (Zone 2 or 78.2% of max)

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9.53/154
7.53/164 - Repeat interval of 1m @ 7.5 pace
8.50/158 - First half was recovery (9.5), second half was first half of next interval (7.5)
8.43/158 - First half was interval, with the last quarter mile increasing in speed up to 7.25, 2nd half was recovery
4.74/152 (9.48 pace) - Recovery

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This was the 2nd highest HR Efficiency number that I've ever recorded (3/30/09 was top).

Interesting that the HR numbers never really climbed, even though I pushed that 2nd interval some at the end. I've sort of wondered about these treadmill workouts being too easy, and even if the 'mills themselves are calibrated properly. My best runs from an "HR efficiency" perspective have all been treadmill runs. There's something to be said for being indoors in a climate controlled area and having the machine set the pace for you...and I've always found running on a treadmill "easier" than outside.

Still, I think I'll try to rotate around to different ones and see if I notice any difficulty changes.

4m of Repeats on the Gym Treadmill

4m @ 8.84 pace w/ avg HR of 153

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No splits on this one but it was 1 mile WU (9.5), then 4 quarter mile repeats at 7.5 pace w/ 9 pace in between. Finished up with a progressively slower 1m Cooldown at a final pace of 9.50

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I absolutely hate the treadmill on anything more than 3 miles, but it was 94 outside with 80% humidity, so I thought I'd run inside to avoid that. I had been doing hill work on my weekday "speed" runs, but since I was inside I opted for intervals instead.

It was pretty easy and I'll likely bump up the interval speed next time to something like 7.25 instead of 7.50.

4.16m on Treadmill (Repeats)

4.16 miles at 8.13min pace w/ avg HR of 156

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1st mile in 9.00 w/ avg HR of 150 - Warmup mile

2nd mile in 7.45 w/ avg HR of 158 - included repeats

3rd mile in 7.73 w/ avg HR of 159 - included repeats

4th mile ni 8.20 w/ avg HR of 158 - included repeats and cooldown

remainder in 1.45 (9.06 pace) w/ avg HR of 151 - all cooldown

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I'm beginning to question my HR monitor numbers. The last few runs, the HR has read unusually low given the speeds I was doing. This run is a perfect example of that, as I ran repeats on the treadmill on 2/24, 3/3, 3/10, & 3/24 all with avg HR in the mid to upper 160's...and now I blow this one out at 156?

The only thing that makes me think that avg *might* be legitimate is that this was a "taper" repeat session, with super short intervals (.25) as opposed to the monster 1m & up intervals I've been doing in the past.

Oh well, I'll just choose to look at it that way and let it give me a good confidence boost here in raceweek.

5m on the Treadmill - Repeats

5 miles at 7.97 min pace w/ avg HR of 165

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This was on the treadmill so my speed was precisely controlled. Basically I started out with a 1 mile warmup at around 8.82 pace, then ran 3 1 mile repeats at 7.40 pace, with a 1.50 min breaks in between at 8.82 pace. I finished up with about .65 mile at progressively slower pace, finishing up at around 9 min miles.

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This was a difficult run for me. The combination of the boredom of the treadmill, with the loooong repeat at a relatively fast pace caused me to really struggle and really want it end.

Dunno if it's just training fatigue or what but I'm pretty much ready for the race to get here.

6m repeats on the way back from Soccer practice

6m @ 7.82 pace w/ avg HR of 173

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1st mile in 8.27 @ 150 - Supposed to be a warmup mile, but that's a little too fast

2nd mile in 7.43 @ 179 - Wow, pretty fast considering only half the mile was repeat pace.

3rd mile in 7.37 @ 178 - Ditto.

4th mile in 8.68 @ 176 - Obviously fading, but the repeat pace was probably closer to target (7.33)

5th mile in 7.85 @ 178 - Getting a second wind.

6th mile in 7.32 @ 180 - Finished up at the entrance of CH.


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This was supposed to be 5 three-quarter mile repeats at 7.33min/mile pace with a quarter mile in between of EZ, but I just couldn't gauge my pace early on and ran waaaaaaay too fast on the first repeat. As a result of that and a particularly hilly course, I cut all the repeats short at half mile instead. So, I did more total repeats overall, but not for the prescribed length. I'm just not that good at gauging my pace yet, as some of those early repeats were clocking at less than 7 min pace. (Made for a great overall pace though!) I got better as I got warmed up though and felt pretty strong there at the end.

Weather was great, dry and cool at about 60. It was dark by the time I got home so I purchased a reflective vest to wear from Walmart for $6.67.

P.S. This was the fastest I've ever run 6 or more miles (or 4 for that matter) , and by a good margin too (7.82 vs 8.00).

5.25 miles on the Treadmill (Repeats)

5.25 miles at 8.02 pace w/ avg HR of 164

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1st mile in 9.03 @ 150

2nd mile in 7.72 @ 163

3rd mile in 7.70 @ 167

4th mile in 7.72 @ 169

5th mile in 7.73 @ 173

extra in 2.23 (8.92 pace) @ 163

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This was a repeat/interval session where I ran a 1 mile warmup then did 4 three-quarter mile repeats at 7.33 pace with a quarter mile easy (9min/mile) interval in between. Finished up with a half mile cool down.

As my previous blog post showed, I wasn't really feeling it for this session, and consequently I was struggling on each of those repeats, especially the last one. I had to do all sorts of mind tricks/games to keep from just staring at the readout on the treadmill anticipating the end of the repeat.

Still, it turned out to be a great run, at least from the look of the numbers. I'm thinking, though, that my HRM batteries are getting ready to go, as I don't really trust those averages that are showing up. I'll change the battery tonight and see what happens.

5.25m on Treadmill (Repeats)

5.25m at 8.10 pace w/ avg HR of 167

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1st mile in 9.00 @ 150

2nd mile in 7.73 @ 168

3rd mile in 7.83 @ 170

4th mile in 7.83 @ 173

5th mile in 8.07 @ 176

extra in 2.08 (8.32 pace) @ 171

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This was an interval/repeat speedwork session where I started out with a warmup mile, then did 8 quarter mile repeats at 7min/mile pace w/ quarter mile intervals of easy running (about 8.50min pace) in between.

5.26 @ CH (Repeats/Speedwork)

5.26 miles at CH in 8.37 pace w/ avg HR of 170.

This was speedwork, consisting of 1.5 mile warmup, then 6 quarter mile repeats at 5k pace, with EZ quarter miles in between, finishing with a 1 mile cooldown.

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1st mile in 8.57 @ 150 - Warmup mile before the repeats start.

2nd mile in 8.06 @ 169 - This mile included the first of the repeats.

3rd mile in 8.05 @ 177 - Fully into the repeats here. Nice to see that time is consistant.

4th mile in 8.36 @ 179 - The last of the repeats, time slowed down here a bit.

5th mile in 8.66 @ 177 - One repeat, with the rest part of the cooldown mile.

extra .25 in 2.32 (9.28 pace) @ 177 - Remainder of the cooldown.

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Looking back, I ran the repeats a little too fast and couldn't hold the pace as a result. The first 3 were all sub 7 minute pace (with the 3rd actually at a 6.48 pace), with the final 3 average more closely to about 7 minute pace. The pace was supposed to be "5k pace minus 10 sec" so for me that should have been no faster than 7.50 pace.

Oh well, I should be glad I pushed myself harder, right?

5.00 @ CH

5.00 m @ 8.66 w/ HR of 171.

Basically this was another speedwork session where I started off with 1.50 miles of warmup, then did 3 half mile repeats at 10k pace, with half mile rest sessions in between. I finished up with a mile cooldown.

The repeats broke out like the following:

1st - 7.40 pace @ 180

2nd - 7.63 pace @ 180

3rd - 8.17 pace @ 179

I was doing well on the first 2 but that last one took a lot out of me. It's funny that my HR didn't go up though, as I felt like my LOE here was much higher.

The cooldown mile was slow (9min+) and I needed every bit of that slowness. This was a hard running session and I struggled.

It took a lot out of me the rest of the day too as I had a lot of lethargy and soreness. Maybe there's something else going on as I was also sneezing a lot (allergies?). Or, it could be that my LSD session the day before was too strenuous and I wasn't properly rested for this speed work.

4.50 of Repeats at CH

Sunday was speedwork so I did some repeats with an overall dist of 4.51 miles at 8.27 min pace with HR of 165.

I set the watch to do automatic half-mile splits.

1st half mile in 3.92 @ 116 - Way too fast, but this was mostly downhill and I was anxious about speedwork.

2nd half mile in 4.4 @ 164 - This is more like it.

3rd half mile in 4.15 @ 161 - Probably a little too fast but HR is doing great.

4th half mile in 3.68 @ 178 - First half-mile repeat at 5k pace. Solid 7.36 min pace. Would love to run a 5k at that pace. Haven't yet.

5th half mile in 4.52 @ 168 - Recovery half mile

Quarter mile in 2.25 @ 168 - Recovery quarter mile (.75 total) About a 9min pace.

Half mile in 3.73 @ 180 - 2nd half-mile repeat at 5k pace. Pace is still good at 7.46. Finishing this interval, I'd rate my effort level at a 9/10. I was hurting there at the end.

Recovery 1.25 miles at about 8.58 pace @ 172 HR - I didn't walk at all but maybe should have since I couldn't get that HR down below 170.

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It was 47 and sunny and I was perfectly comfortable in a sleeveless wicking shirt and shorts.

4.00 (repeats) at CH

4 miles Sunday morning 1/18/09 in 8.16 average with HR of 156 (questionable).

This was my speedwork out of the week.

1st mile in 8.05 at HR of 110 - This was supposed to be a warmup mile, but I obviously took it too fast. I guess I was a little anxious about doing speedwork for the first time in a long time. That HR figure is probably wrong as my Timex device always starts to pick up the "real" HR at least a mile into my runs.

.45 mile at a 7.98 pace at HR of 160 - Remainder of the warmup. Again, too fast, but at least this was almost all solidly downhill. HR probably about right.

.693 mile at 7.86 pace at HR of 171 - The first half of this was my first interval: .33 mile at 5k pace. The second half was my recovery period. I figure the speed part was about 7.15 with the recovery at about 8.57.

.341 mile at 7.18 pace at HR of 177 - The second repeat of .33 mile. Pretty fast, but I'd like to get one of these repeats down below 7 min pace.

.347 mile at 8.73 pace at HR of 170 - Recovery period.

.331 mile at 7.49 pace at HR of 178 - Last repeat. Not as fast as I'd like but my HR was working even hard on this one.

.354 mile at 8.90 pace at HR of 171 - Recovery period.

.483 mile at 9.25 pace at HR of 174 - Cooldown half-mile. Mostly uphill and back to the house. I stopped right at 4miles and was pretty spent.

This was a decent speed session. It was very cold out (around 20 degrees), I wore a performance shirt under a longsleeve cotton tee, running gloves, and I put a backwards ballcap on my head since it was drizzling a bit. I was comfortable despite the conditions.

Note - On that first repeat by the clubhouse, a pack of deer came running around the front on the other side of the lake of me, bounded into the water, swam over, and crossed right in front of me. They freaked out as they saw me and scrambled across the road about 30 yards away and into the field on my right.