Eight Mile

Right - well, I was planning a swim today with Annajo from the RW forums, but she had to pull out, so I decided to save the swim for another day (or later today) and go for the long run instead. my legs were still twanging a bit from the BPTT yesterday, so I wasn't sure how wise it was, but I set out anyway, thinking of doing eight but possibly ten if all went well. It was another two days running on the trot, which was good.

The first few miles went really well - I was running well within myself, and yet my heart rate was under 130. Question was - would it stay that low? It did seem noticeably cooler today, which might have helped. I reached the end of Mulgrave Road in under eight minutes, and my legs were turning over really smoothly :o)

What happens now? Always a big question as at times my HR has started to climb at this point, but today it didn't, other than would be entirely reasonable considering an increase in pace or an upslope. Today it didn't, as can be seen from the figures.

I reached the far end of West Drive really going well but still with my HR just peeping over the 140 figure, and headed for Nonsuch. I crested the railway bridge, which usually sends the HR up to 150 and I have to slow, but today I maxed out here at 146, and hit the downslope to the Park feeling great. SHortly after entering the Park, I hit two miles, and the second split was 8:47! I knew things were going well :oD

The third split is a bit odd, as the Garmin lost the signal from the HRM, and in my efforts to get it to pick up again, I hit the lap button, so it's a tad short. I should have hit it again as I hit mile three, but didn't, so the splits from there on in are one mile apart but 2.61,3.61 etc.

It was after this that the HR started to climb :o( Slowly at first, but my running just didn't feel good. I'd gone from ticking over nicely at 145 or so but still sticking to sub nine minute miles, to struggling to keep the HR down without dropping back to over 9:20s. My legs didn't feel as fluent either. I really wish I knew what was happening at this point. It was about this point where I suddenly felt wobbly on my last six miler as well. I exited the park, HR still okay but feeling I wasn't running as quickly, and deviated from my usual route to add in an extra loop. I was tempted to continue with a six miler, and stick the two miles extra on the end, as then I'd have a direct comparison, and on the first half I thought I was way better than any recent runs as the HR had stayed low. In the end I stuck the loop in the middle. The route can be seen below.

This is where I got the shock - I'd fondly imagined that the back of Nonsuch Park would be pretty flat, but actually there's some horrid hills stuck in there, and my HR climbed quickly as I got into oxygen debt, and I had to really slow drastically to bring it down. Whether the chest problem has made this particularly bad or if it's just something I need to train for (not done hills or much speedwork), but this bit really killed me! It was quite nasty road as well, rough pavements and those islands in the middle to stop cars using it as a rat-run, which meant I had to twist and turn a lot. Half way round here I resorted to taking walk breaks, as the HR wouldn't stay below 150, even if I did slow right down.

Then I crested one hill, and had a nice downhill, but had the wind in my face! Great news! The HR went down, but not as much as it might have done without the wind. I was finding running harder work now, which was odd as the first few miles it had felt very easy and I felt as if I could have kept it up forever. Something changed in there though - just not sure what :o(

Anyway - then it was back onto the Nonsuh bit, and although the HR was still a smidge high, it wasn't too bad. The pace for the last couple of miles is pretty much the same as on 20th June, which isn't bad considering there's an extra couple of miles in there, and confirms my idea that I'm running better. I do wish I didn't have that loss of form though - the last half is noticeably slower, and given how easy I felt on the first few miles, it seems odd. What is going on that makes me suddenly "fizzle out" like that? What's almost more disappointing is how my form suffers as well, although perhaps if I kept the speed up and sacrificed HR, that wouldn't happen, but that isn't the objective. Yeterday at Bushey Park, with the legs turning over, felt great :oD Maybe they're still tired from that, my right quad was cramping a bit from five miles or so.

Anyway - rest day from running tomorrow I think - will see how the legs feel in the morning. I think I'll fit that swim in, possibly a bike ride, and then do Pilates and Body Pump in the evening.

Oh yes - and weight hit 94kgs today as well :oD