Seriously. I think last night was the first time I have ever gone out for an hour long run, no matter how far the distance was. I was to run (and walk) for an hour. Plain and simple. I know it isn't exactly rocket science, but I have always run for distance, even when I was sort-of "just running for time."
Last night was my first official training run on my IMCDA '09 schedule, mostly from the book Be Iron Fit. The schedule has 10 weeks of base training before moving onto 20 weeks of build and peak training. I missed the first 2 weeks because CDA is in 28 weeks, but I think I will be just fine considering I only trained for IMAZ for 13 weeks each time.
The great thing about the schedule is that the first 10 weeks are strictly aerobic training - nothing anaerobic, meaning basically nothing strenuous on my very-weak system. This works out as a win/win situation for me because right now I need to make sure I only stay aerobic to make sure I successfully get myself out of my overtrained state and back in the grove of things, and this schedule helps me do just that, while training for the ironman.
I was very happy last night thinking that I'm not really having to "repay my debt" right now with this schedule, meaning I'm not having to dig myself out of the hole I am in, but rather I am already able to start putting "money in the bank."
My workout last night was an hour long run in heart rate zone 2. For me, this is 149-171. My average for the whole workout was 154. Success!
Now, to the interesting part...my overall pace for the run was a whopping 13:25 min/mile. I covered a whopping 4.5 miles in an hour. But, for my first "run" in a month, it felt good, not hard. I have a long ways to go, but the idea is that all this base training will make me more efficient and hopefully staying in Z2 won't always mean 13+ min/mile pace. If things go anywhere near the way they should, that 13+ pace should come down gradually throughout the training. I'll just keep my fingers crossed on that one.
My strategy for last night was to do a .5 mile walking warm up, then start running. Every time my HR hit 170, I would hit the lap button on my garmin and walk for 2 minutes. I started off running around 11 something pace, but by the end I was down to actually running near a 13:00 pace. I ran anywhere from 1.5 to 11 minutes or so at a time. I kind of need blinders on though to not get caught up in what is going on around me and not be self-conscious about running sooooo slow. I think eventually I will walk for 1 minute at a time instead of 2, but for now I think 2 is the right mix.
I never wanted to train solely by heart rate, but for now I think it is the best option for me. I can ensure I'm not doing too much, or going out too hard, and I have a very good way to measure improvement over time.
Running for an hour by heart rate was also so nice because it took all pressure off me to go fast, or to cover a certain distance. I knew I'd be done in exactly 60 minutes...no more, no less. If I had a big race coming up, it might not be as easy, mentally, to workout like this, but for now it is just what I need.
A very interesting observation though is the difference in my walking and "running" HR. One of my recent walks was at a 15:27 min/mile pace, and my average HR for that walk was 125. Last night for an average of 2 minutes faster per mile, my average HR was 154 - 30 bpm higher!!! To me, that is crazy. I'm not sure if it is that way for everyone, or if I am just extra special.
So, last night was definitely a good run for me, despite the fact it might be the slowest run I have ever done. I at least have some direction now and hope I can keep at it without any more huge setbacks. I think I am going to like this whole "run for an hour" thing.
Last night was my first official training run on my IMCDA '09 schedule, mostly from the book Be Iron Fit. The schedule has 10 weeks of base training before moving onto 20 weeks of build and peak training. I missed the first 2 weeks because CDA is in 28 weeks, but I think I will be just fine considering I only trained for IMAZ for 13 weeks each time.
The great thing about the schedule is that the first 10 weeks are strictly aerobic training - nothing anaerobic, meaning basically nothing strenuous on my very-weak system. This works out as a win/win situation for me because right now I need to make sure I only stay aerobic to make sure I successfully get myself out of my overtrained state and back in the grove of things, and this schedule helps me do just that, while training for the ironman.
I was very happy last night thinking that I'm not really having to "repay my debt" right now with this schedule, meaning I'm not having to dig myself out of the hole I am in, but rather I am already able to start putting "money in the bank."
My workout last night was an hour long run in heart rate zone 2. For me, this is 149-171. My average for the whole workout was 154. Success!
Now, to the interesting part...my overall pace for the run was a whopping 13:25 min/mile. I covered a whopping 4.5 miles in an hour. But, for my first "run" in a month, it felt good, not hard. I have a long ways to go, but the idea is that all this base training will make me more efficient and hopefully staying in Z2 won't always mean 13+ min/mile pace. If things go anywhere near the way they should, that 13+ pace should come down gradually throughout the training. I'll just keep my fingers crossed on that one.
My strategy for last night was to do a .5 mile walking warm up, then start running. Every time my HR hit 170, I would hit the lap button on my garmin and walk for 2 minutes. I started off running around 11 something pace, but by the end I was down to actually running near a 13:00 pace. I ran anywhere from 1.5 to 11 minutes or so at a time. I kind of need blinders on though to not get caught up in what is going on around me and not be self-conscious about running sooooo slow. I think eventually I will walk for 1 minute at a time instead of 2, but for now I think 2 is the right mix.
I never wanted to train solely by heart rate, but for now I think it is the best option for me. I can ensure I'm not doing too much, or going out too hard, and I have a very good way to measure improvement over time.
Running for an hour by heart rate was also so nice because it took all pressure off me to go fast, or to cover a certain distance. I knew I'd be done in exactly 60 minutes...no more, no less. If I had a big race coming up, it might not be as easy, mentally, to workout like this, but for now it is just what I need.
A very interesting observation though is the difference in my walking and "running" HR. One of my recent walks was at a 15:27 min/mile pace, and my average HR for that walk was 125. Last night for an average of 2 minutes faster per mile, my average HR was 154 - 30 bpm higher!!! To me, that is crazy. I'm not sure if it is that way for everyone, or if I am just extra special.
So, last night was definitely a good run for me, despite the fact it might be the slowest run I have ever done. I at least have some direction now and hope I can keep at it without any more huge setbacks. I think I am going to like this whole "run for an hour" thing.
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Stay tuned...
Robin :)