5 mile run (intervals) - 5/19

I decided to do this weeks interval workout today, as this coming weekends run is 15 miles, and I didn't want to exhaust myself late in the week and have my legs still be recovering for that long run.

When I initially started out, I felt like on the first interval that I was going to have a tough run. I think my first interval ended at around the same spot as it usually ends, but I felt much more winded and my legs felt more stressed. It occured to me that I may have started out a little more dehydrated, so maybe that was it.

After going through a few intervals, something definately felt off from the other interval workouts. It seemed like I was working harder, my legs were becoming more tired, and the spots at which my intervals ended were different. It seemed as though I had lost a step.

Lap 1: 9:06 (warm up)
Lap 2: 1:31 End HR: 179
Lap 3: 1:00 End HR: 149
Lap 4: 1:30 End HR: 181
Lap 5: 1:00 End HR: 147
Lap 6: 1:31 End HR: 180
Lap 7: 1:00 End HR: 145
Lap 8: 1:30 End HR: 182
Lap 9: 1:00 End HR: 149
Lap 10: 1:32 End HR: 175
Lap 11: 1:00 End HR: 142
Lap 12: 1:30 End HR: 180
Lap 13: 1:00 End HR: 146
Lap 14: 1:30 End HR: 179
Lap 15: 1:00 End HR: 147
Lap 16: 1:30 End HR: 178
Lap 17: 1:00 End HR: 147
Lap 18: 1:30 End HR: 174
Lap 19: 1:00 End HR: 144
Lap 20: 1:30 End HR: 175
Lap 21: 1:00 End HR: 140
Lap 22: 1:30 End HR: 179
Lap 23: 1:00 End HR: 147
Lap 24: 1:30 End HR: 179
Lap 25: 1:00 End HR: 137
Lap 26: 7:27 Avg HR: 158 (cooldown)

So here is where tracking progress can be helpful. I definately felt like I was working harder, and the end HR of the intervals (and even the rest intervals) show that. Whereas before, the end HR of the running intervals were in the mid 170's - this time around they tended to be closer to the high 170's and sometimes in the 180's. The rest intervals previously ended in the low 140's, and this time they tended to be closer to the mid/high 140's. I noticed a difference during the rest intervals as well - before I'd find that my HR would stay pretty high (> 170) for 20 seconds or so, and in the last 40 seconds it would start to plummet. This time, it stayed in the 170's for a solid 30 seconds, leaving less time for it to continue coming down before the next run interval.

In the end, the total time for this run was 46:48, whereas my other two interval runs were around 48 minutes. So, proof positive that even though I felt like I had lost a step and was working harder to accomplish less - I was actually just improving and pushing myself a bit harder.