Speedwork with Steve on the trail. Tried a new workout. The idea is to max out the HR for as long as possible. I realized that a VO2 Max workout does not work very well, at least for me. It take me 4 minutes of running to get my HR to the max regardless of how fast I run after a certain threshold is crossed. If I had been running at my 5 K race pace, I am too tired at that point to sustain the max heart rate any longer. So Ii figured if I run at about 5:30 pace for the first 4 minutes, my HR will be 160. Then pick up the pace to 5 K race pace, and it almost immediately climbs to 170, but I am not too tired to hold it for a while. So with that philosophy, we did 2x1.5 with full rest starting out at a tempo pace, and then accelerating to a VO2 Max pace once HR climbed up to be withing a shooting range. First one - splits by quarter - 1:22 - 1:21 - 1:20 - 1:14 - 1:17 - 1:19, total time 7:53. HR reached 170. 1:14 was too hard, and we paid for it. I felt lead in my legs. On the second one, we decided to be more conservative and fullfil the purpose of the workout, which is to maximize aerobic output and hold it for as long as possible. We ran the second interval in the opposite direction. The trail looks flat, but the river flows towards the lake, so there must be a tiny bit of a grade. The first one would have been a bit net downhill, while the second a bit up. Splits - 1:23 - 1:21 - 1:21 - 1:21 - 1:17 - 1:16. Total time 7:59, caught the 5:20 guy. HR hit 173, and I did not feel as much lead in the legs. With the warm up and cool down the total distance was 11 miles. Ran with the kids in the evening. Big difference having Steve around. Yesterday I could not get myself to go any faster than 8:19 on the exact same stretch, and putting in quite a bit of an effort. | 