The first week on my new schedule went far over what I expected. It is really crazy but I have not felt so good with my running in a long time. There was no pains what so ever this week, and not really that much hardship out in the track either except that interval running which was tough but worked out really well.
So my first run this week was a shorter and slower run to just recover and this went well. I then did the intervals on Wednesday and that was really tough. Cardio and VO2 max training really. I put the intervals far too long to be effective, I will correct that for the next week. Instead of 10 min intervals with 2 min walks I will run 3/2 or 3/1 but based on my pulse rather than on time. I would then be able to run to 90% of maximum pulse and then walk it down to 80% or even 75% and then run it up to 90% again in intervals around the path I usually goes.
But the highlight this week was my fabulous long distance run. I set out slow, very slow, I got the advice to start “silly slow” and then just very gradually pick up the speed after the first click or so. Which I did, I then kept the pulse around 155-160 and I really had to hold back the first couple of kilometers.
Then I entered the Zone. Seriously. The feet pounding the ground just disappeared around me and all I was aware of was my regular, but not too strained, breathing and I could go on for ever like this. Uphill was not a problem, I just increased the cadence and lowered the speed and downhill I compensated for the loss of time keeping the tempo around 8:45 per km. That’s really slow, about 25% faster than you walk at a good pace of course. But it does not matter by being able to keep this pace for a full hour and not stopping until the 7 km was up I got a really really good workout.
The best really. I feel it in my legs, my foot soles are a little hurting but not that bad. During the running however no pains at all. Nothing, just pure floating over the ground, the full moon above shining down on the forest path that I regularly work out on. Instead of the normal 2 laps I do I did 3 laps and then down to the water line.
Really great. I feel so great it’s difficult to describe it. Just… WOW!
The southern loop was run three laps
Nice.
Yup, a proper “runners high” that one!
Indeed. So what are your ultimate aims/goals with all this running malarky then?
Feel good. Live long and prosper. I don’t really know, to see what is possible I guess. Getting closer to the 10 km now. Then 20 km. And why not a marathon? That would be a couple of years away at rather intense training but not completely impossible. Don’t know.
I just know I must be doing something right. I feel great, I have no injuries, and I have slowly but steady kept getting better at it. I am still a very slow runner however but I care more for the distance and the time I can be at it rather than trying to push that 5 min / km thing.
But my ultimate goal – I just don’t know. I just like it I guess. For now.
Good stuff. I’ve contemplated doing some serious distances but I just find it all too tedious. Went for a run this morning – did 7.1miles (11.4km) in 1hr12mins or so, which is pretty slow really (but my circuit laps are incredibly hilly- I used to be much much faster when I was running on flatter surfaces, and I guess I still would be). First time I’ve pushed that kind of distance in a while and boy did I feel it.
Check my blog soon for my current views on running, this morning heralded some interesting thoughts that you may relate to (or maybe not!)
Oh, and I don’t see myself ever running a marathon – it’s not that I couldn’t do it physically, I jut don’t have a high enough boredom threshold to train for it! Mind you, my dad was a marathon runner…