Metabo journal

I meant to run yesterday but instead I made buttercream icing for HS' birthday cake. Also Mirabelle was getting her teeth cleaned, which is a rather intense procedure for a cat. She still managed to run 7 laps this afternoon despite the rough weekend.

 Today NR and I ran down to sugarhouse park and ran 1 inside lap and 1 outside lap.  Since I've been running on the track at the field house I didn't know how well I would do running on those hills. I did better than I expected, but I think it helped that I had a running partner. We finished in 49:01 for an average 10:29/mile. I monitored my heart rate with the GPS and I ran at an average of 89% max (~170 bpm). This seems a little high to me considering the pace we were running. 

Today I did a recovery run on the track at the field house. I was monitoring my heart rate and trying to stay around 150 bpm. This morning I measured my RHR (56 bpm) so 150 bpm is 69% of max if I assume that my max is 193. In order to stay at 150 I had to slow down to an 11-minute mile, which is insanely slow-I felt I could have probably been walking as fast as I was "running". I also did several manual measurements of my heart rate to check the HRM and it was pretty accurate. I'm not sure why my heart rate is going so high for such a minimal effort. I didn't feel too fatigued during the runs yesterday or today, but my heart rate seems to be saying that I should feel more tired. I plan to continue monitoring my heart rate over the next few weeks/months, and I also might try to empirically determine an apparent max HR. Following the run I did 50 crunches, 22 push-ups, 50 each side leg lifts, and 2 planks (45 sec and 30 sec). I can feel my upper body strength improving with the push-ups.

As a side note, I bought two good cake pans (magic line) that initially baked a cake evenly and without a large bulge being formed on top. Tonight I switched recipes from the Dede Wilson white cake to the 4-egg (yellow) cake from the Joy of Cooking. The cakes bulged. Maybe it was switching back to all-purpose flour instead of using the cake flour...

Ran with Holter device, 10 min/mile pace. Run felt ok, but holter made it slightly uncomfortable. Followed up with 20 crunches (declined bench), 50 each side leg lifts with 10 sec hold at end, 24 pushups.

Hiked up the foothills to take some pictures of the clouds.

Ran on the track at the field house, and tried to stay at a pace that was around 155 bpm (70% max HR). At the end, my HR was 162 and the run took ~62 minutes. Followed up with 50 each side leg lifts, 40 crunches (decline bench), and 26 push-ups.

Ran intervals (2 slow/1fast lap) on the track today for 2 miles followed by 1 easy mile. The intervals felt invigorating, but I was definitely fatigued by the time I finished the fifth fast lap. The slow lap is ~1:30 and the fast lap is ~1:00. I try to go as fast as I can, but I would burn out if I sprinted as fast as I could. Followed up with 50 crunches, 30 each donkey kicks, 20 each front leg lifts, 1 x 1 min plank, 26 push-ups.

Ran my old route around the block at a comfortable level, 27:19. The average pace was 10:01 and my pulse at the end of the run was 148. I'm not sure why my heart rate stayed around 70% max considering last week I had to run an 11-minute mile to keep my heart rate down. I even picked it up a little at the end, so this is inconsistent with the last 2 weeks.

Did a light run today, ~10:30 min/mile and my HR at the finish was 152 bpm. I could feel my glut muscles working despite the easy run, I think because I have run 4 days in a row.

There was a boys soccer team (~8 yo) on the track that I haven't seen before. They sounded like a herd of stampeding cattle every time I ran past them. Since my little brother has grown up, I had forgotten how sweaty little boys smell amazingly similar to wet dogs...today I remembered. Followed up with 50 each side leg lifts, 30 each donkey kicks, and 30 push-ups.

Tried to run for 60 minutes at HR 150 bpm, but I ended with an average HR of 160 bpm (11:11/mile). I'm not used to running quite this slow and I think I have a different gait when I do because I felt some achy knees- nothing too serious, but it was definitely hard to keep my HR down. After running I went on a 2 hr hike to take pictures.

Ran outside with HS, including 1 mile on the East high track. Total run time was 33:30, so 10:30/mile. The weather was great and it felt good running outside. I have a slightly nagging muscle pain in my inner thigh up in the groin area. I'm hoping that it will subside if I take it easy for a few days. I don't feel it all the time, only intermittently. 

According to Jack Daniels (a different Jack Daniels, Mom and Dad), I should know what my purpose is for every workout. So, what was the goal of my workout today?- To spend some time running at HR ~170 (84% HRmax). I ran the first mile in 9:09 and kept my HR right at 170 toward the latter half, but the average HR was 158. For the second mile I did recovery pace of 11:18 with average HR 159. Finally, I tried to run as fast as possible (without giving out) for the third mile and finished in 8:31 with HR 178. Followed up with 50 each side leg lifts, 50 crunches, 25 each forward leg lifts, 1 x 1 min plank, 1 x 30 sec plank, and 35 push-ups. 

In high school, I was forced to run CC in order to play basketball and usually ran around 8 min/mile pace for definitely no more than 2 miles. I don't think I am too far off that pace right now, which is surprising because I am not in as good of physical condition as I was back then (i.e. I'm fatter). I think that including more interval work into my routine will be helpful in that I should increase economy (?), but I also won't get bored.

Ran slowly (11:32/mile) on a treadmill as part of a recovery day. Followed up with 50 crunches, 25 bicycles, 50 each donkey kicks, and 40 push-ups.

Ran 2.8 miles at a comfortable pace just to get out and run, average HR was 156 bpm. The weather was nice and the run was relaxing.

Ran around the neighborhood just to get moving before the drive to Idaho.

Took a walk around some Boise neighborhoods. Felt light-headed and weak (fatigued), and felt strong heart beating earlier in the day.

Ran 4 miles and walked the other 4.5 in 40 degree weather with wind. Average HR was around 165 during the run.

Ran 2/1 intervals again today with an extra slow lap after intervals 2, 4, and 6. I was only running 5 intervals, but I decided to push it up to 6. Finished in 30:17. Followed up with 50 crunches, 25 each forward leg lifts, 50 each side leg lifts, 1 x 1 min plank, and 29 push-ups.

Ran 4 laps around the neighborhood, finished in 58:30. I really started to feel fatigued in the hips. My average pace (HR) for each lap was:

9:53 (154)

10:25 (162)

10:23 (169)

10:30 (172) 

Walked to the East High track with Arby to do an easy warm-up followed by a timed mile. Ran the mile in 8:27, which was good considering I didn't have fresh legs and there was some wind in my face on one of the long stretches.

Did cross-training today. Started with 20 minutes on the stair stepper, but I was disappointed because it was nowhere close to actually climbing stairs. At the end the machine reported that I had climbed 70-something flights of stairs, but in reality I would have passed out long before 70. I also rode a bike (level 5) for a 5 min warm-up followed by alternating 30 sec at 100 rpm and 30 sec at 60 rpm for 20 reps. (This was more like it!) The HRM on the bike read that my average was probably between 155-160 bpm for the 20 minute period. Followed up with 75 crunches, 50 each side leg lifts, 10 KB scissors, 1 x 1 min plank, and 45 push-ups.