Friday, February 22, 2008

Run run run

Posting this at work =D. Today I woke up with such a great feeling. I have no idea why. Maybe it is because it is Friday. The weather here is terrible. Snowing and cold.

Last night I did a quick run on the treadmill. Same setup as always. Elevation 1.5 degrees. Increase the pace until my HR hovers 140 (no higher than 145). A few weeks ago I posted that I was running at 4.4 miles/hour. Last night , I was going up to 4.7 miles/hour with the same heart rate. :O. The first 5 min, my heart rate was below 140. I thought my heart rate monitor (HRM) was wrong.

Same heart rate with faster pace => improve effiency!!

I still can't believe it. I have to redo the test again. I like to see how this will transform on races.

I am looking forwad to tomorrow. Nothing spectacular. Run 2 hr, bike an hour or two and swim. Nothing plan in the morning so I am free to sweat as much as I want.

I have been running everyday. Body is absorbing the mileage very well. Now I sounds like a repeating record. Just keep plugging it away.

Picked up this short article. Author detailing Sergio's recipe to having a great run.

To summarize (cut and paste):

Finally, a little bit about his training. Like most good runners, Sergio enjoys running tremendously. You don’t become good at something when you hate it or when every workout feels like a chore. In order to improve and achieve your best at anything, you need to embrace it and work hard at it. As for the main staples of Sergio’s running program, those are:

- Run everyday - For Sergio, running everyday is a given. Sometimes a run for a particular day is not scheduled and that often leads to some “secret training”.
- Run hard, run long - On top of the most traditional long run, that does not excceed 2:30h, another staple of Sergio’s program is a second long run that is done at a pace that is faster than Ironman marathon pace.
- Do hill repeats - Short, steep hills during the off-season. Go up hard and recover on the downhill. Great for ankle/achilles strenghtening.
- No such thing as a junk mile - Keep your overall mileage up by doing short (45-60min) runs, even if at a very easy pace.
- Learning to push yourself - Sergio runs only with just a watch on unmarked trails. The only time he has accurate splits is when he races. This allows him to focus on himself and what what he can achieve on any given day. When racing, he focus on achieving the best he can on the day.

...aka just freaking run!! Even with a busy schedule this week, I cramp as much running as I can. I love it.

Have a great weekend everyone.

6 comments:

Brent Buckner said...

Efficiency and/or fitness!

ShirleyPerly said...

"Nothing spectacular. Run 2 hr, bike an hour or two and swim."

You crack me up. Glad the running is going well!!

Jen in Budapest said...

yeah, me too. I'm like what??? nothing spectacular? I would see fireworks if I ran for 2 hours. One day I hope to get there but as of today, I'm at the low end of the short run. I can handle biking 1-2 hours no problem. It's the swimming that's killing me too.

Michael said...

Enjoy that 2h run and congratulations on the efficiency (and fitness)!

brendaj said...

I'm envious you can run every day. And thanks for sharing the great tips.

Ellie Hamilton said...

So it is working for you, the heart rate training... you're running a faster pace at the same heart rate? When I tried it I had to slow down so much I thought it would never work, and I stopped using the monitor and went faster again. Maybe now that I've run "my last marathon" I'll give HR training another try (so I can run faster and easier at my next last marathon...)