Tuesday, August 14, 2007

...and the fatigue sets in

Ok, the party is over. I have been going, going, and going and still having great runs. But today, I got the call to slow down a bit. You know I did the Mtn Lakes tri on Saturday, right? After my 12 mile run on Friday. And then we started week 2 of the Pfitz 18/55 plan on Sunday. It called for an 8 mile run with 10x100m strides at the end. I figured my legs would be dead, but they weren't. I felt great during the run - all kinds of energy, until right at mile 7. Around mile 7 I could tell I was getting a little tired. Then we went on to do the 10x100m strides, and I felt very tired. I was actually had a sick feeling in my stomach by the time they were over. I was drinking Accelerade while doing them, and I thought maybe it didn't set well in my stomach.
Monday was a rest day, and I did just that. Other than the normal work day + cooking dinner + cleaning around the house and doing some laundry and packing lunches for the next day, I rested. I really wanted to be able to get in some weight training, but I felt like the rest was more important, especially after doing a triathlon on my weekend rest day. So this morning called for 10 miles, general aerobic pace, taking off at 4:50 from my house with Michele and Joe. I didn't feel great, but I didn't feel terribly bad, either. We ran 3 miles and then decided to take a detour down by Cracker Barrel and run down and up the infamous "Cracker Barrel Hill". This was Joe's idea, of course, but neither Michele nor myself was going to back down on the challenge. So we did the hill, and Joe commented that it was easier in the dark, and he was right. When you can't see the grade at which you are climbing, it really is easier. Everything is so mental. So we continue to run through town, and we pass Heather and Pam at the same place we always pass them. Michele said she thinks they must hide around the corner and pop out when they see us coming...hahaha! It is funny that we always pass them in the same spot, regardless of where or when we start. I have to say, though, it is good to pass other runners out in town at that hour. I believe they are training for the Memphis Marathon which is a week before Rocket City.
Anyways, with about 2 miles to go I really felt spent. My heart rate had been too high for most of the run and my legs were tired. I backed off the pace a little and let it come down. Joe had tons of energy this morning, and was pretty much running back and forth. Michele and I finished the 10 miles in 1:37:59, a 9:48 pace. My average HR was 159 and my max was 172. Now that I think about it, 159 is not too terribly high. I just didn't feel good and strong during this run like I have all the other ones. But those days happen.

Speaking of heart rate, I have created a little calculator for calculating the correct heart rate zones according to Pfitz. If you'll look to the right, under my "Links" section, you will see it. Pfitz, in his book, Advanced Marathoning, suggests that using a calculation consisting of your max hr minus your resting heart rate, called Heart Rate Reserve (HRR), as the more accurate way to determine how much your heart rate can increase in order to provide more oxygen to your muscles. So if you provide your maximum and resting heart rates to my calculator, it will take the resulting HRR and multiply it by the percentage of HRR that Pfitz suggests for each type of run. It then adds back your resting heart rate to give you a low and high number of beats per minute to stay within. He actually recommends starting the run at the lower end, and then increasing to the higher end by the end of the run. And for recovery runs, you should just keep your heart rate below the one number for the entire run. I'll talk more about this later, especially as I get more involved with getting an accurate max and resting heart rate for myself. Right now, I am using 190 as my max and 49 as my resting.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

I do the strides in the middle of the run, then do the last two miles like the first part of the run. It seems that after doing the strides, I have a little more energy for the end of the run.

I really like the calculator. Good job!

Unknown said...

You're going gung-ho, full speed ahead. no wonder you needed a rest day. I'm always impressed with your dedication and how well you do at your events. Woo-Hoo, Lana!

RunToTheFinish said...

What do you use to measure your heart rate? I know there are a ton of gadgets out, anything you like?

TriSonq said...

I guess I need to start marathon training sometime soon. I'm getting a little intimidated by yall's training.

TJ said...

Even God rested one day.
Take care of yourself and rest up.
Don't keep going and knock your immune system for a loop and get sick.....not that I've done that or anything.....