Sunday was my long run day of the week. I did 7 miles (with 5 min walking warm ups), and my goal was not to stop for rest breaks. I ran the first mile at a 10:56 pace, and then picked it up to a 10:30 pace for the miles 2 and 3. At the 3.5 mile (2.5 at that pace) I was getting really hot, overheated (despite the water), and my breathing and heart rate were really pushing hard - 2:2 breathing pattern and my HR was pushing the mid 160s (sad, I know). Normally I would have walked, but this time i just slowed back down to the 10:56 pace. After about 1/4-1/3 of a mile my heart rate had recovered to 140bpm, my breathing was in a comfortable 3:3 pattern and I felt much cooler. After only .5 miles, I was able to pick up the speed again to the 10:30 pace. Now, after about the same distance I started feeling really fatigued, overheated, and my breathing was getting labored again. I didn't slow down because I was nearly done with the run, but I learned something important:
My body tends to overheat after 2-3 miles at a medium to hard pace (which 10:30 is for me on the TM in the high 70s w/ no fan or air blowing on me). Once I start to overheat and my HR is up in the 160s I start to get breathing problems, cramping, feeing like shit. If I just bring my HR down to 140 for a few minutes of recovery i can start pushing the speed again before too long. But if I just "push through the pain" at that pace, I became a shuffling flesh bag of misery. What's surprising is that the recovery jogs really do allow me to recover if I use them in the right way - namely that my heart rate comes down to about 140 bpm and I feel myself cooling off. The second surprise is that I really need to listen to my body when it says to slow down and let my HR recover and let my body cool down (esp in the heat).
What's extra interesting about all this (for me) is the difference between HR while running and while on an elliptical. I can maintain a 160 bpm with bursts at 170 bpm on an elliptical w/ no cramping, breathing, or over heating for 45 pretty easily. I'm betting a lot of it has to do with the impact of running and the toll it takes on your body. But I find it interesting that take out the jostling and jarring and I can push my hear fitness much further than I can when I'm running.
How I'm going to use this info:
1- work jog breaks into my long runs w/ closer monitoring of heart rate and perceived body temp. Remind myself that an 11:00 pace WILL cool me down as much as walking, I just have to trust it.
2- I need to rethink my interval speeds or lengths. I'm currently doing 400s , but I can do a lot of them (I can alternate between 400m at 9:15 pace followed by 1 min recovery jog for 30 min). I don't think I'm doing them right. I need to either run longer 800s or faster (sub-9 min miles for sure). If I have readers I'm happy for input :) I'm thinking longer is probably the answer b/c I want to improve my endurance pace... right?
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