How am I feeling today?

I had a planned rest day yesterday, which is always tough to get through without screwing things up by doing a run anyways. Somehow, I managed to get through the day without running, and even though I really did try to keep things easy, I still did over the 10,000 steps for the day. 

At least my head has cleared up back to normal, though…I had to go up on the roof and paint the metal chimney with special paint, and when I do, it scrambles the old brain (a lot like the primer “blue death” from my Coast Guard days did), messes me up, and it takes about a day for the effects to wear off. I sure wouldn’t want to use that stuff in an enclosed space without a respirator on.

Other than that, I am looking forward to the challenge of today’s workout. It is one that I haven’t done in a long time, and I know that it will be a tough one to finish, but I will finish it.

Planned Workout Description: 

Type: Longer Intervals – 5 x 5:00 minutes with 2:00 minute recoveries.

Per Stryd: “Your workout today calls for five repeats of 5:00 at 95-102% of your Stryd Auto-Calculated Critical Power. This builds off of two different workouts you’ve done. One of your first workouts was 5 x 3:00 and you’ve also done two separate workouts of 15:00 + 5:00 and 15:00 + 10:00. Your goal for this 5 x 5:00 session is to start conservatively the first 5:00 repeat around 95% of your Stryd Auto-Calculated Critical Power and progress the second and third repeat from 95-102% of your Stryd Auto-Calculated Critical Power. After your last repeat run an easy cool down.”

Today’s Running Focus

Pacing (Not too fast)

What I Did Today: 

Warm-up

• Split Avg Power Target Range
• S:1 – 12:30 203W 163 – 186 W

Run/Recover

• Split Avg Power Target Range
• 5 x 5:00 Strides 241W 221 – 238 W                           
• 2:00 Recoveries 208W 116 – 163 W

Cooldown

• Split Avg Power Target Range
• S:18 – 12:30 214W 151 – 175 W

Unplanned

• Split Avg Power
• S:19 – 13:01 205W

Did the workout go as planned?

In a word – Yes.

Although it was faster than Stryd planned it out. I felt in control and had plenty in the tank through all five of the intervals.

This was supposed to be controlled pacing on the 5:00-minute intervals, not all out bust-a-gut, get it done now session. I would say that I stayed at about 85-90% effort most of the time and didn’t feel like I was gonna keel over after each faster section. This was more about me re-learning to focus for longer periods while being slightly uncomfortable. That way, I don’t just give in to those inner demons and quit too soon, then be pissed because I wasn’t able to successfully do ALL of the workout.

Today I did all of the workout and a little extra.

Injuries/Niggles: The Achilles didn’t bother until late in the run, which was a nice change. Otherwise, I felt good the entire run.

Weather: Clear sky, 69°F, Feels like 69°F, Humidity 70%, Wind 0mph from N

Shoes: Reebok RunFast v1 – Running 8.0 miles without any significant issues in the RunFast v1s made the run a lot more bearable, especially when I had to pick up the pace to slightly uncomfortable speeds. The idea I could do it without worrying about my feet bothering me was one less thing to worry about.

What did I learn today?

In the past, I avoided this type of workout. I prefer the shorter, faster stuff, and when I get into this duration/distance or longer for repeats, they stop being fun and start to be hard work. Something that I haven’t always embraced as a necessary part of my running. Now, I know that the hard work is just part of the deal, and while my speed will never be as fast as I once was, the effort levels are higher now than they have been in a long-time and the training is a LOT smarter.

I am learning more about being a runner with the Stryd pod. No, it isn’t all about the incredible stats that the pod provides. To be honest, I look at them, sort of register what they are, and then forget about them. Hell, I seldom look at my watch during the run and have the alarms for staying around the correct Power range turned off most of the time.

No, what I think is fantastic about the Stryd ecosystem are the training plans. 

While I don’t always follow the plans exactly and run the paces more by feel than numbers, I tend to stick to the general principle of the planned workout. It feels as though I have a coach to give me my workouts, and they are workouts that I would never assign myself. Which has been a good thing. Plus, I like that my watch beeps and buzzes at me when it is time to change gears. It is as though a coach is out there yelling at me to get my arse in gear. 🙂

Especially since I tend to do my training alone and don’t see myself changing much in the near term.

The other thing that I learned is that for longer runs, my Achilles’ tendons are like a higher drop right now. Lately, I have had issues with the Achilles after 40:00 to 50:00 minutes of running in my Carbon x1 and wanted to experiment with a higher drop “go faster” shoe to see if it was me or the shoes. 

Today’s run in the Run Fast v1 with a 9mm drop didn’t start to bother until around the 7.5-mile mark, which is a big difference. So, if I want to run longer, it seems that I have to go for a higher drop shoe until the Achilles gets stronger/healed. It is probably a good idea to have different drop-height shoes to change my stride a little.

I really could have used a drink at about the 45:00-minute mark, and in this kind of weather, I probably need to start thinking about carrying some water and drinking every couple of miles, just to stay a little more hydrated.

Good run.