Skirt Sport Love

Received my Skirt Sport order today. Yippee! I already believe I will run faster in these cute skirts! I grabbed them when they were greatly reduced last week. The grey one below is the Heartbreaker skirt.

This one is the 261 Courage Capri skirt.

And this one.... I wasn't sure I'd like it, but I do!! It is the Boulder skirt.

Also I had a good running experience today. I've been trying to follow Jeff Galloway's run/walk/run method for at least a year now. I know we shouldn't compare ourselves to others, but....I'm slow. I mean, I know "my race, my pace," and all that, and I'm old (56yo) compared to most of the other runners I know. But still, I feel so slow. I love to run, no matter how slow, but I would so like to be a bit faster.

Today I tried to do a couple of 800 meter runs just to see how fast I could do them. According to Galloway, in order to run a 2:20 half marathon at the end of his training period, I should be running the 800 meters in 5:10. I had no hopes of being able to do a half in 2:20 but thought maybe I could do one in 2:30 (The two I've done were 2:43, 2:45) , so I estimated my 800m runs at a goal of 5:25. I did two of them in 4:58! So maybe, just maybe, I can get faster.

Maybe all that did for me was give me some confidence. The fastest I've ever done a 5k is 32:33 and that was over a year ago. For the 800 meters I ran fast, for me that is, even though I couldn't sustain it for long, then I'd take a short walk break, and repeat it multiple times.

Maybe, just maybe, one day I'll be able to do a sub 30 minute 5k.....I can dream can't I?

 

MAF

Did my first timed trial of the Maximum Aerobic Function (MAF) test. Seriously, I walked most of the time. I slowed down to the absolute slowest I could shuffle and my heart rate would alert within about 50 steps. I could also make it alert just doing a fast walk.

Mile 1 - 15:13

Mile 2 - 15:37

Mile 3 - 16:05

180 minus my age, 55 = 125 max bpm. I tried my best to keep it between 120-125, but a few times it did get over it. I'd immediately walk or slow down if I was already walking. This is going to be really tough to stick with this for all my training runs (walks), but I do want to.

Interestingly, on the Jeff Galloway site, for a magic mile of 10:00 (my fastest), his recommended training pace is 15:00 minute miles. Pretty close to my slow MAF trial. Sounds like Jeff and Phil Maffetone are basically saying the same thing.....keep the heart rate low enough to stay in the aerobic zone rather than the anaerobic zone. Build your aerobic base to run the distance faster with the same effort. I like the fact that the aerobic zone uses fat for energy rather than carbs and sugar. That is probably why I always felt like I needed some kind of fuel for any runs over five miles. My energy would get depleted. I believe I read that when your body uses fat it is more efficient.

Gorgeous day to run

Been reading Jeff Galloway again and got inspired to try something new. He says for my magic mile speed, I should be doing 3/1 intervals for my long runs. I thought I'd try it today just to see if breaking to walk more often made me run faster. It seemed to. My long run times (5-9 miles) have been at about a 12:30 minute mile pace. Today I did 5 miles at a 11:38 pace. I think I started off too fast because it was cold and I just had it in my mind I could do the run parts faster. My right calf cramped up after about a mile and a half. I stopped for a few minutes.

I think I pushed it pretty hard doing my magic mile on Thursday. Maybe that was why it seemed a little hard today. Of course Jeff also would recommend that for my magic mile time I should train at a pace of 15:10. That is barely more than walking. I just can't go that slow, and I am not convinced it would help me get faster. I should try it, I know he has lots of experience with coaching beginning runners but......man that is slow.

Split Time Distance Avg Pace Summary 58:15.7 5.01 11:38 1 11:42.0 1.00 11:42 2 12:09.3 1.00 12:09 3 11:15.9 1.00 11:16 4 12:19.1 1.00 12:19 5 10:46.0 1.00 10:46 6 :03.3 0.01 8:59

Magic mile

In the Jefff Galloway run/walk training method, he recommends you run a "magic mile" periodically to check your speed. He has a prediction model where you put in your magic mile and he will predict your average pace for different races. The magic mile is a good hard run. If you have to walk a bit, that is ok, but give it a good effort, just not so much that you throw up. I did that tonight and was pleased with my magic mile time.

My total was 3.76 miles at an average pace of 11:04. One of my goals for the year was to run a 10 minute mile pace for either 3 or 5 miles, don't remember exactly. I did it on the treadmill earlier this year for a couple of miles but it is harder on the road/trail. I don't think I'll make a complete 5k at a 10 minute mile average but maybe that can be a goal for 2015. I know a ten minute mile isn't even remotely fast, but for a 55 year old beginner (less than two years), I'll take it. One of my friends commented that pace isn't important, just that you are out there and covering distance. Good advice.

I suppose my competitive spirit, won't let me quite get over pace....even though I have to do self talk all the time about my age and my slow pace.