Thursday, September 25, 2008

First SAP Run

Today was a scheduled 5 mile trail run at Lake of the Woods with 2 miles in the middle at SAP pace (HR=143-163). It worked out quite well and felt pretty easy. I did a one mile warm-up at MEP pace (133-143HR), then ran 2 miles at SAP pace, followed by a 2 mile cool down at MEP pace. Here are the stats:

1 mile @ 8:29 pace, Avg HR=135 (mostly flat and downhill)
2 miles @ 8:09 pace, Avg HR=157 (mixed rolling hills)
2 miles @ 9:56 pace, Avg HR=142 (more uphill than downhill)
Shoe: Nike Air Zoom Trail
HR recovery: (2 minutes after run: 139=>106=33 beats)
Feeling: 8/10

The only thing I didn't like about this run was the recovery 2 miles at the end. I felt my heart rate was way too high for such a slow pace. I think I need to walk right after the SAP running until my heart rate drops to about 113, then slowly pick it up again and maintain the MEP running. It was a bit warm this evening, but not hot enough to keep my HR elevated. Feel fine now and I'm looking forward to lots more MEP and SAP running. I can see turning this SAP "tempo" run into a 1-3-1 (MEP-SAP-MEP) breakdown in the near future. I have a feeling I'm going to dislike most of the MAP (HR=113-133) running. Hey coach, you out there?

Tomorrow is an easy cross training day, Saturday is a short easy run, then Sunday is the 50K trail race.

6 comments:

denalifc said...

Chris - good luck at HOBO 50k.

Chris Ⓥ said...

Thanks Ian. I hope to take it easy and just finish feeling good (but still under 6:00). Farmdale will be my "coming out party"--whatever that means!

jeff said...

chris, I'm having trouble posting...i can't figure out those funny letters that all run togehter ..what's the point with that??...anyway you an real easy week...a few comments on this week's workouts:
be flexible if you want to run a little more run
you need much longer warmups and cool downs, since your running faster, the wups/cd's will help keep the back from stiffness
on sundays hobo, wup the first couple miles then run alot just easy but relaxed, don't go slower just to go slower, RUN!!, wear your HRM to get data, don't run by it...run a negative split

704Studio said...

Chris,

Good luck in Rockford!

I will be running my first ultra at Farmdale next month. I have done some study of training methods in "Lore of Running", but I am still feeling hesitant about my own training habits. I feel my running regime is good for 15k and below, but not so sure if it will translate into a doable ultra.

Specifically - my long runs have been fairly consistent, I usually run long once every two weeks. I have been building the mileage slowly during 2008. Did 1.5-2 hour long runs in late winter, increased to 2.5-3 hours in summer, and ran one 3.5 hour long run last Saturday. I handled that last run fairly well, and had no muscle soreness the following day. However, I am not certain if one 3.5 hour long run is sufficient for a 5.5-6.5 hour race.

The reason I have confidence that it may be enough is because I have run for 316 consecutive days and counting. My weekly mileage varies between 35-55 during a normal week, but I have put in a number of 65 mile weeks, 3 or 4 70 mile weeks, and one 100 mile week in late August. I am hoping the consistent shorter training runs will make up for the lack of super long runs (over 3.5 hours).

I have run only 1 marathon, The Grand Island Trail Marathon last year. I averaged 9:00/mile, finishing in 3:55, which is what I expected. (The 1.5 miles of sand running blew my quads out and at mile 19 I hit the wall). This year I have not run any races longer than 15k.

Do you think I have a shot at finishing the race without walking the final 5 miles? My normal slow speed for long runs is about 9 minutes per mile. For the ultra I am guessing I will average 9.5/10 minutes per mile. I realize there is going to be a great deal of discomfort during miles 26-33, but I am hoping I can withstand it.

Any suggestions, training or otherwise, will be appreciated!

James W.

Chris Ⓥ said...

James,
You'll finish Farmdale. Good choice of a first ultra too---well organized race with a variety of terrain, but generally not too hard. You have a lot of consistent running going for you and a few long runs (and the trail marathon experience). Walk the hills at Farmdale--you'll save your legs and allow for some recovery while not losing much time. With the fine aid stations and fellow runners, you'll have plenty of motivation to finish Farmdale...maybe even with a surprising time. Good luck!

704Studio said...

Thanks for the response, Chris. I am hoping the race day environment will be able to pull me through.

Have a great race today in Rockford, and looking forward to the report,

James