Effort-based running

This week : 

 M : TRX arms / 12 minutes

run 4.1 / 7:06 / 217 ft

T : yoga 15 minutes

run w/Ben 9.2 / 7:40 / 525 ft

W : rest

R : run 5.7 / 8:38 / 400 ft

TRX 34 minutes

F :  rest

Sa : yoga 20 minutes

run 14 / 8:07 / 853 ft

Su : yoga 17 minutes

bike w/Dan 20.3 / 18 mph / 1142 ft

total run miles : 33

total bike miles : 20.3

I've been running primarily #nowatchme for the past few weeks. This means that while I am wearing a watch and recording all my runs, I do not allow myself to look at the pace or mile splits while I am running. I decide what kind of effort I want to put in, and that is the effort I exert.  I can't look at my watch to see if my pace matches what I think it should for my effort.  I often keep my watch on the HR screen so that I can judge my effort by my HR, but not accidentally see my pace.  Some days I have the self control not to look at my watch at all.  

On Monday, my legs were itching to go.  I hadn't let myself open up to a fast pace in awhile, and my legs wanted to stretch out.  I had barely been free of calf pain for 24 hours, but sometimes it is worse to hold my legs back, so I decided to let them go.  I kept the effort somewhere between moderate and hard, and did not look at my watch until it was over, other than to check the mileage occasionally because I wanted to make sure I got at least 4.  I was incredibly happy to see my average pace when I completed the run.  7:06 average in a training run without exerting maximum effort was a huge confidence booster for me.  

On Tuesday I was still feeling good and my legs still had that "get up and go" feeling.  I wasn't quite ready to put myself back on the track, so I decided to do a long hill push.  I hadn't run the 2+ mile White's Mill hill in awhile, and I was craving a good long hard climb.  Ben agreed to go with me, so off we went.  We kept the pace easy-moderate on the downhill, and after turning around at the bottom I focused on a good steady push up the hill.  Last time I did this run, I pushed too hard on the first part of the hill and died before I reached the top, so this time I made sure I was keeping something for the final push.  I felt really strong as I pushed up that hill, and was really pleased with the run overall.  

I made myself take Wednesday off because I was afraid of overdoing it and setting myself back again when I was finally feeling good.  On Thursday I had planned to do a TRX workout for Gail in the evening, so I decided to do my run before work in the morning.  I decided it would be better for my legs to not do the run and TRX back to back.  Plus, I'm always slow in the mornings, so a morning run guarantees that I won't overdo it.  I forgot to eat a little something before the run, so my stomach was yelling at me to feed it during the whole run, but other than that is wasn't bad.  

I was hoping for a minimum of 12 miles on Saturday (although I only needed 11 to hit my 30 miles for the week so I knew I could stop there if it was going poorly).  I had a vague route planned out in my head, but I hadn't mapped it, and suspected I would have to add several miles at the end of the loop I had in mind.  A few miles in, I was feeling pretty good despite the persistent rain and had an idea for a loop to add, so I did.  Coming up on 11 miles, I had a choice to run straight home and get about 13, or add a bit and get to 14.  I decided to go for the 14.  I ended up having to zig zag back and forth between two streets to get the 14 without running past home, but I got it.  I kept the effort pretty easy throughout the run.  I noticed my HR creeping into Z4 a few times, and each time I worked to steady my breathing and bring it back to Z3.  I ended up with only 12% of the run in Z4, which can mostly be attributed to hills.   I was a bit disappointed that my average pace was over 8, but after looking at the HR data I realized that 8:07 is a good pace for me, with staying out of Z4.  I'm still hoping that comes down below 8:00 soon, but I think as long as things continue to go well, it will.  

Happy face after a great hill run!

Successful 14 miler done despite the chill and rain!