Weekly Test Runs Start (Again)

Last winter I started doing weekly test runs in an effort to keep myself motivated and honest.  I stopped them in late February.  All of those test run blog posts are tagged with the label "test run."  I have started them again!  My original post back in December 11, 2009 told of my initial plan and goals.

I still plan on the same test run logistics.  I'll run once a week on the treadmill at 8:00 pace for 3 miles. I'll start with a 1/4 mile walk, followed by a 1/4 mile jog, then 3 miles at 7.5 mph (8:00 minutes per mile), then cool down with a 1/2 mile walk at 4mph (15:00 minutes per mile). In addition to last year's statistics, I'll add two more variables: beats/mile  (lower number is good--shows efficiency) and heart rate recovery (drop in HR after 2 minutes of walking--greater decrease in heart rate is positive). 

Here are the full variables I will track and my goals:

Morning Weight (<170)
Morning Resting Heart Rate (<50)
Heart Rate Average for the 3-mile Test Run (<135)
Peak Heart Rate during Test Run (<145)
Recovery/Decrease in HR after 2 Minutes (>30 beat drop)
Beats per Mile (<1100)

Here are my baseline statistics from this past weekend:

3 miles @ 8:00 pace
Weight: 169
Resting HR: 53
Average HR: 136
Peak HR: 147
Recovery HR (heart rate drop): 32
Beats/Mile: 1088

In the future, I'll share my run stats and compare them to the previous week and this baseline. My next test run should be this Friday morning. So far, I'm pleased with these baseline numbers.  They are better than last year's stats so I'm starting in a good position.