Weather - 62 degrees, cloudy. Ran 2 miles to Crystal Lake park, then .5 miles to Cardinal because I wanted to do bike interval session #6. I am starting to enjoy treadmill running, so I hopped on and ran a 2.5 mile "cross country course", which meant the treadmill continued to raise and lower itself. I picked a "hilly" course, and averaged 7:30 pace, which was stiff with the elevation changes. I was not feeling all that great mentally because the past couple of nights my sleep has been choppy, so my energy level was down. When I finished the treadmill I stretched a bit and hopped on the bike. As I pedaled easy for 5 minutes my will started to slack, I felt I did not have the strength for a tough interval session. I decided to at least try, and if I felt like crap I would cut it short. Happily when I began the intervals my body went on autopilot and cranked out a good effort, moving up a tension level from previous sessions, and taking shorter rest periods (30 seconds to 1 minute rest). After doing a couple of the 1 minute hard slogs, my heart rate topped out at 157. I was in oxygen debt, breathing heavily, so I expected a number around 165-170. Maybe a longer period of hard work is required to get the heart beating at 85-90% max. I checked the weather for this Saturday's 5k, it looks tough - low 30's with snow/rain, and windy. Considering how well my training has been going, though, I am confident I can get down to 19:55. If the weather is better than expected, I believe I can run 19:40. #144 z.m. - #58
| 