6 Miles - 2/8

Ever since last week, I wanted to do the 6 mile course 2 days in a row to see what kind of improvement I'd make.

While I did that, I threw a bit of a wrench into the mix. The last two trips out, my HR has been in the mid 160's. For a 10 minute mile pace, this is high. So I wanted to slow down to my base pace of 150, and see what happened.

As expected, the run was less strenuous, and overall more enjoyable. Also the other benefit of slowing down a bit is that it increases the time that the legs are pounding pavement - so while the speed may not be there and it may not feel like a rough workout - endurance can be built up.

Total Distance: 6 Miles
Total Time: 1:03:00
Avg HR: 153

This gave me a pace of 10:30. I initially thought this was rather sucky, but looking back at my training results from last year, I see that I did a similar run, similar pace and similar exertion level at the end of September. While my ability to hold speed has decreased (the mid 160's used to have me at 8 min/mile, rather then 10 min/mile) - my aerobic level has stayed pretty similar. So thats good and encouraging.