FIRST week 3
I took Monday off after working out the previous 6 days in a row
Tues had a speed workout on the schedule and I thought I would try 4 X 1200m. I had a lot going on in my mind and was thinking about bagging the workout but I didn’t want to move everything back a day. I ended up doing the first two 1200m intervals pretty easily, but just couldn’t concentrate, so bailed about 30 seconds into the 3rd one and decided to hit the elliptical trainer for a bit. I had been really happy to see where my heart rate was during the first two intervals, but the state of your body doesn’t matter if your mind isn’t into it.
Wed was a cross-training day. I played racquetball for the first time in about a year with two friends from work and it was a blast. We played for about an hour and a half with two or three short breaks for drinks. I turned on my Garmin 305 during the last 15 minutes of racquetball and saw my average HR was 119. This was definitely a much more enjoyable cross-training workout than riding the stationary bike.
Thurs called for a tempo run. The official schedule calls for warm up, 3 miles @ short tempo pace (6:45), cool down. I liked the longer, slightly slower, tempo version better, so I did a 1.5 mile warm up, 5 miles in 34:40 (6:56 average pace), 1.5 mile cool down. I forgot to pack my Garmin, so I used the handlebar based heart rate monitor periodically during the workout, which was really awkward (the treadmill even scrolls a message saying holding the handlebar during running is a bad idea). I think my average HR was a little higher ( ~ 170 BPM) than last week, but I wasn’t surprised given the good workout the day before.
Friday I didn’t work out because I went to dinner and saw “I am Legend” with my wife.
Saturday’s schedule called for “10 miles at a relaxed run effort”. I wasn’t sure how the Conewago trail would be after all the rain we had lately, and didn’t want to drive 25 mins only to be disappointed, so I decided to play it boring and safe and went to LA Fitness. I did the treadmill equivalent of driving through Kansas (throw a brick on the accelerator and take a nap). I punched in 7.0 mph (8:34 pace) and started zoning out listening to The Skeptics Guide to the Universe and watching the techniques of the various racquetball players. I ended up running for 11 miles in just under an hour and 35 minutes, average HR 145.
December 17th, 2007 at 4:18 pm
Wow, 10 miles on the treadmill. I am pretty sure they used that as a means of torture during the US Civil War. Of course the treadmills were powered by water back then.
Seems like you are acclimating to the FIRST plan though?
December 17th, 2007 at 10:45 pm
Usually I’m able to handle treadmill running OK, but it definitely isn’t as enjoyable as running outside. The weather looks like it should be dry and a bit warmer for the rest of the week, so I’m hoping to do my longish run @ Conewago Saturday morning.
I think I’m acclimatizing to FIRST, but I probably need to wait 3-4 weeks to see if I can hold the pace as the long run distance increases. I am enjoying the intensity aspect of the tempo and long runs, but I miss the shear “time on my feet” when I was doing longer but slower paced runs before starting FIRST.
December 18th, 2007 at 1:00 pm
How was “I am Legend”?
December 19th, 2007 at 1:31 am
Overall Legend was pretty good. There were a few minor quirks that bugged me, but I would give it an 8 out of 10.