The Long Run

6.12@9:32   HR 135 bpm

Two loops in Westlake Village.  Purposely ran with slightly higher heart rate today, running more in zone 2 than usual (but being sure to stay out of zone 3).  At least zone 2 according to my garmin.  Usually I'm trying to stay closer to MAF (180 - age).  Someone wrote that the most helpful productive vs stress zone is zone 2.  Who knows.

2nd mile was slowest at 10:05 and that was with heart rate of 137, rest of the miles were all under 10 (fastest 9:06) all with heart rate at 137 or less.  Something about that second mile that was harder for some reason.

8.13@7:34   HR 158 bpm

Tempo run/10k time trial.  Westlake Village loops.  My last tempo run was 5 miles long at an average pace of 6:59 which was around 15 seconds faster per mile than I thought I could do.  Decided to do 6.2 and see if I could get around the same pace or at least anything steady and faster than 7:30 I'd count as success.

Ended up with splits: 7:12, 7:05, 7:08, 6:59, 6:55, 7:01, 0.23@6:44

For the first mile I started out just trying to get into 7:20's which I did then pace gradually crept up.  Despite being a little faster, held onto the pace and improved a little more over the next two miles.  The 4th mile felt good and I found myself under 7:00.  Decided to relax and not push it any further, but pace stayed fairly steady. 

When I woke up this morning, had thought about pushing this run to Wednesday but then decided to just do it today, glad I did. 

I guess I felt more relaxed for the 5th mile, ended up a few more seconds faster but realized I still had a mile to go.

For the 6th mile, I went past my turn a little bit, did a 180, then had a small hill to go up and over, so at first looked like 6th mile might be in the 7:20's, but then slowly get back some pace.  Rounded out the 10k feeling really good.

I used to have more of these accidentally fast runs in the past, so it was a feeling I hadn't had in a while.  The second half of this time trial was about the pace I did for the 5k Turkey Trot.

Decided to sign up for Holiday Half in Madeira Beach, maybe I can improve on my 2019 time.

4.54@10:42   HR  142bpm

Loop and a half inside Westlake Village.  Although I felt pretty good and things seemed normal, my heart rate was probably about 15 bpm higher than what it would normally be for this pace and distance.  It still felt easy, could've been hardware glitch with watch.  Heart rate seemed pretty consistent with the Fenix 6 and was getting very similar results to using the HR strap , so I stopped using the strap.

5.14@10:07  HR  131 bpm

Heart rate was more back to normal compared to yesterday.  This was despite having stayed up crazy late with work last night (like 2:30 in the morning - have not done that for a long while).  

I did go back to 4/1 run/walk, whereas last few runs were at 6/1, but shouldn't have made that much of a difference I would have thought.

7.21@ 9:59  HR 132 bpm

After a pretty busy week at work, today's run was much less stressful with the deadlines behind me (but not thinking yet about the upcoming ones).

Starkey Gap trail southbound and then continued on along Keystone after crossing the road at the point I usually turn back.

Big run tomorrow, maybe up to 32 miles.  Supported Long Haul preview at Colt Creek State park.  Will do at least one loop (16.7 miles) , maybe two if it goes well.

21.19@11:20  HR  136 bpm

Long Haul course preview run.  This was a supported run held at Colt Creek state park.  I think there were about 40 runners there.  I was hoping to do up to 32 miles (about two loops) but at least wanted to get one loop done and then add on some more to get into the 20's.

Official start time was 8:30. I said I'd meet Daisy there at 7:30. I got to the gate just after 7:30 then took a few minutes to drive to the parking spot.  We did a short 3 mile loop to warm up and then waited for the official start where RD Andy gave some course instructions and advice.  It's a similar course to Colt 45 but adds on some extra sections to extend the distance from 14 miles to 16.7 miles.

Nick was also there, the three of us ran together for almost 13 miles.  Nick was running short on time so went ahead and since we had gotten ahead of Daisy, I turned back to look for her.  Saw two women running together and asked if they saw her, they said yes and that she said she was "done" and last saw her walking on the paved road. So I assumed she was going to take a shortcut on the road to get back.

At about mile 14 I think my average pace was around 11:40, but after that I picked it up for the remainder miles.  Course was pleasant.  There was one section of water you could almost tiptoe around but not quite so my shoes got a little wet, but everything else was perfect.   Almost back at the start area and I was near the start/finish for the actual race, near the big pavillion.  Course wasn't explicitly marked but if I'd paid attention to the instructions I'd know to stay on the paved path in front of the pavillion which then turns back to trail as it goes around Mac Lake.  Fortunately, a runner that was driving by on his way home saw I looked lost and told me where to go.

Back at the start, my watch was at 19.8 miles.  I stopped at my car for water and refueling and then suddenly felt run down. Got going again and felt better but didn't go too far, just enough to get into the 20's.

Hanging out afterward, Daisy called.  She was close by at the place where I wasn't sure where to go, gave her the instructions and less than 10 minutes later she showed up (a few people ran into the same problem).  On race day it won't be a problem because we will be running this loop 7 times.

All during the week the temps were cool, but they warmed back up today, with start temps in the mid 60's and finish temps in high 70's but at least there was a good cloud cover.

Since I didn't get the big 30 plus mile run I'd hoped for I'll do some more miles tomorrow.