When I woke up this morning, I had no idea what was in store for me today, and had no real intention to do anything but my normally scheduled run.
If ever there is a testament as to the value and improvement potential of an actual training plan, it is this story.
When I started running again about 3 or so years ago, I told myself that I would consider myself in shape if I could run 5 miles in 40 minutes. So until about 2 months ago, that was my primary goal. I'd run 2-3 times per week, usually going anywhere from 3-5 miles, and occasionally going out for longer runs of 6-8 miles. I'd run at what I thought was a good, hardworking pace. But alas, after 2.5 yrs of running without any sort of a structured program, the best I was able to get was 8:30 min/mile - but more commonly the times were around 9:00 min/mile for a 5 mile run. Progress was very slow.
So now, today, after following a real program for a mere two months now, I was able to run a 5 mile course at a sub 8 min/mil pace. Granted, this two months required running 5 days a week, and a level of dedication that required that running be a very high priority in my list of life activities (pretty much behind sleep and work). I didn't really think about my five-miles-in-40-minutes goal over the past 2 months because I knew that in my grand scheme plan for training, I'd eventually reach it. It was just a question of when. I found out it was on October 7, 2008.
It was one of the more challenging runs, both mentally and physically, that I've done in a long time. My breathing, especially for the last half, was fairly heavy - definately not able to hold a conversation. In fact, I felt like the only oxygen left over for my brain was the minimum amount for situational awareness - everything else was going towards burning energy. My legs felt fairly drained the whole time - there were certainly portions where I slowed down a bit to recover from a small incline or something. For the most part, once I was warmed up and rolling, my HR was pretty consistently in the low 170's - which put me in the 85-90% HR training zone. There were definately parts where I felt like I really REALLY wanted to slow down - but what kept me going was that I didn't want to give up and quit when I had already put in 3, then 4, then 4.5 miles of hard running.
So, here we are:
Total Distance: 5.25
Total Time: 41:09
Average HR: 166
As challenging as it was, it was equally as rewarding. I discovered what it felt like to maintain that level of exertion for that length of time. I am also able to knock off the first goal I had in mind when I started running again in the first place. It took a long time, but I did it.
The only potential downside I can think of is that technically, I'm supposed to be on a taper. However, I'm hoping that because this was early in the taper, there will be plenty of time to recover. Also, I think there is something to be said for the psychological benefit, knowing that I can sustain the HR for an extended period of time. While the average HR was 166, I know it is skewed a little low due to the amount of time it takes to get the HR up.
Also, as an added point of information - the 166 HR puts me at the 85% training zone, which is supposedly about 10-20 sec/mile slower then a 10k pace. So I finally have a somewhat decent estimate of what my 10k pace is.
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