Benchmark I've decided to do a mid-week speed benchmark every other week. I warm up for 1 mile and then run as fast as I can for three miles. This week I decided to add a 1 mile cool down. I also altered my 3-mile course because I didn't want to have a stoplight in the middle of my last mile. It means more uphill mileage as the second mile is almost all uphill, but that is OK. I probably should find a flatter course, but I don't really want to run around my block 5 times. I'm trying to get the three miles in at under a 9mm pace. Two weeks ago, I averaged 9 exactly. Today my splits were:: 9:16, 9:42, 7:58. This was my first sub 8 mile in a long time--even though most of it was gravity-assisted. The results today make me feel good about what I have been doing. My heart rate got as high as 191. This was, as expected, higher than the age-based estimate of 182 for my maximum heart rate. This wasn't quite a proper stress test. but I'll use it. My resting heart rate is down to 57 from 63. I'll need to recalculate my zones after looking at the data, but at a range of 57-191, my anaerobic threshold should be about 163. This validates my experience from Monday where I was feeling good at 161. I saw Lysa just after I finished my last fast mile and was starting to cool down. She was on her way up Newcastle while I was on my way down. I tried to tell her about my heart rate monitor, but she was not impressed. 3 mile Benchmark Today 3 mile Benchmark July 18, 2012
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