Sasha told me that he thinks I can run faster and farther than I think I can. His first challenge was for me to run my 'target marathon pace' (for a 4 hour marathon) as long as I can on the treadmill (or until I flew off or dropped dead or something fun like that). Last December Leslie and I both did a sub 30 minute 5K on a treadmill and I thought I was going to die at the end. I really didn't think I had improved much - but I have to admit Sasha's training methods are working. 1 mile warm-up at 4.5 mph. Kicked it up to 6.6 mph (~9:04 minute miles) and settled in for the long run (small joke). The first quarter mile was easy. The second quarter mile I was sure I wasn't going to make it much more than a mile or so, but my body adjusted to the tempo. The first two miles I was probably around a 8 on the Perceived Exertion scale. The third mile I could feel my breathing start to get a little rougher, but could focus on it and calm it down somewhat. PE was 8.25 most of this mile and the breathing was more strained towards the end. Unfortunately, I looked at the clock and realized I had to get back to work. Heart Rate was 168 immediately after the 3rd marathon mile. My heart rate monitor strap has not worked on my last two runs. Is there a battery in them that might have run out? Sasha - I could have probably done another 2+ miles or maybe more before exhaustion set in. Do you want me to redo the test when I have more time? PM - went to the gym and did 21 miles on the stationary bike. At 12 minute miles that totalled 5 running miles.
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