Running

This morning I had a resting heart rate of 42 beats per minute, the lowest measured in my life so far. I know running buddies who (claim to) have a HRrest as low as 34 bpm. Yay for supercompensation, the superior form of adaptation in sports physiology 🏃🩺

Preparing for a 10 km race this afternoon, 15.00 hours local time (CEST). With faster shoes and 3 kg weight loss I should be able to beat the 50:02 I ran six weeks ago, though it’s 5℃ warmer today 🏃‍♂️

Wish me luck, please, TIA!

Tried the new HOKA ONE ONE Carbon X 3 running shoe🏃‍♂️ ‘Twas an instabuy.

Aaand, I got a discount on an already low price. It’s not the Nike Alphafly super shoe, but more affordable and still awesome for a slowpoke like me.

On my long run this morning I saw the heather in bloom 🏃‍♂️🌸

I’ll be running in summer heat this afternoon, around 31℃ (88℉), so—aside from water—having a route for a 10 miles long easy pace run would be handy, especially if it’s uploaded to my Garmin watch 🏃‍♂️

It seems that running 🏃 in the heat improves running performance, even in colder weather, provided the runner is able to deal with performing in high temperatures. Since 30+℃ (86+ ℉) temperatures are expected coming Saturday, it makes sense to train under those conditions, right?

Yesterday I ran 🏃 21 km as a workout, alternating between marathon pace and 20 percent slower than MP. I expected to be extremely tired the day after, but I am not. Today’s a rest day, though I feel I could run. It’s a good feeling 😊 Rest is important, though, crucial even.

Yesterday I did my first training run of 18 km, on unfamiliar terrain. I expected to be super tired when I woke up this morning, but I felt great, and my resting heart rate was not elevated. Unlike previous times, my first week of marathon training went extremely well 🏃

I think where I went wrong every time in my marathon preparation is by training too hard. One shouldn’t be exhausted after a few weeks. Every session should be doable, tough at times, never too tough. Around races longer than 15 km should be ten days of easy going, and so on 🏃

Yesterday evening I did my first marathon training session, a 16 km aerobic pace run. Since I ran alone, I could pick my own route, so I made it a pretty route. I wasn’t fully recovered from the 12 km race 3 days earlier, so it felt harder than it should’ve 🏃

I ran a partial (4 of 12 km) trail (see Strava) in 23℃ (73 F) in 1 hour and 3½ minutes. It felt good and could mean a 4:09 hours marathon result in optimal conditions. I have still 5 months and a lot of training to go to possibly beat my marathon PR from 2004 (3:45 hours) 🏃

Sooo, I ran 21.1 km in 2:35 hours on saturday, and 21.1 km in 2:07 hours on sunday. I guess that’s 42.2 km in 4:42 hours. Fun fact, the 2nd half marathon was a race, and I ran the last 5.1 km 15 s/km faster than 2 hours half marathon pace😅 End-of-the-year marathon, here I come! 🏃

Yesterday I jogged a half marathon in 2 hours 35 minutes, and today I’ll be leasurely racing the same distance in around 2 hours 14 minutes. Together that would be a marathon in slightly more than 4¾ hours. Within 6 months that should become a marathon in less than 4 hours 🏃‍♂️

After a total break following my previous marathon (spent a week in bed due to over-exhaustion), I’m giving it another go, end of the year (November 27). This time around my training schedule will be the upper limit, not the bare minimum. I clearly need a PT to restrain me 🏃‍♂️

I made a rough training schedule, mostly to get me safely to a next level of fitness. The two long runs in the weekends are very gentle (almost walking), but I realize I’ll need to balance it with more distance during the week. That will be a training objective in August 🏃‍♂️

Clawing my way back to marathon fitness with base training. I understand that low intensity running is how it should be done, including walking. Hopefully next time my fitness won’t take a nose dive after a marathon race 🏃

I’ve looked into the Maffetone method for base training (running), since my slow 20 km run two weeks ago felt so hard. It takes a really long time (like many months) to adjust your body, and slow running (8 min/km or 13 mpm in my case) means either low mileage or many hours 🏃

The day before yesterday I fell while running and yesterday I strained my hamstring (again, after I did two weeks ago). I feel bruised and strained like an apple that fell from a tree. Yay for foam rollers and pain medicine 🏃

Ran for the first time this year, after a fortnight break. It wasn’t easy, despite it being “only” 4 km 😓 🏃

I ran my marathon Sunday November 28 in a cold, somewhat wet, yet blistering (puddles) 3:59:06🥇

It was over six years ago I ran my previous, so this one could’ve been my first, physically, not mentally, because your first marathon is special, precious, with tears and crying. 🏃