Another unbelievably nice morning to run in central Arkansas. It just doesn't stay this cool this long in August around here; something weird is going on. Today at 5:30: 64 degrees, reasonable humidity, hint of a breeze, not a cloud in the sky. And things didn't change much between then and 8:20, when I finished my 15 miler -- except the sun came up.
My legs were kinda sore to start with, thanks to last night's 6 that finished around 9 p.m., and the 10 miles Thursday night, and... I figured this would be a good exercise in running with tired legs, as Hal Higdon recommends. Started out at sub-9 pace, which was too fast, but I really didn't slow down much. I did mile 11 in 9:48 with a bit of a walk break, but that was the slowest mile, and the average for 15.05 was 9:06. Hard to imagine I could have run too much faster with the legs in the shape they were, even if the weather were, say, in the 40s instead of the 60s (but I can't wait to find out in October or so). I think this pattern of doing long runs on only 9-10 hours' rest may help me develop some strength that I've lacked in the last 10K at Memphis and Newport -- and maybe help me avoid the dreaded cramp monster as well, along with better hydration and electrolyte management.
Oh yeah, AHR was 138, about 70% of my heart rate reserve using the Karvonen method. Pretty good, IMO, considering it's still warm/humid. I wish my leg muscles were in as good condition as my heart seems to be. If they were, BQ would be a breeze. Cardiac capacity is not my limiting factor here. | 