Thursday, December 4, 2008

HADD test - Inspired by Matt

I just read Matt's blog and was very interested in testing my aerobic level of training using the test known as the HADD test.
It's a good time to do it, as I am just starting to ramp up more miles and it would be nice to compare some numbers and see if I can improve in the next few months with the higher mileage.
Thanks for the idea, Matt!
For the past couple of years, I have been pretty good about training in my aerobic HR zone and have benefited greatly from this type of training.
My max HR is 190, so I chose to target the HR averages at 130, 140, 150, 160, and 170.
I feel that my lactate threshold is somewhere between 160 and 170 right now.
I did the test on a treadmill to try to get a very consistent environment to run this test.
So, here are the results:
Int#: HR_Avg Pace
1 129 9:20
2 139 8:22
3 149 7:48
4 159 7:19
5 169 6:39

I know that I am not in top running condition right now, but I am hoping to make some very good improvement just by increasing miles at low HR training (mostly 130-145HR runs).
I think that the best improvement I could hope for in three months would be to run the exact same paces at 10bpm HR less than this test showed.
That would be not too far from being in 2:59:59 marathon shape (one of my goals yet).

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

I'm OK

Hey, I haven't posted in quite a while. It's time I wrote down some thoughts.

Last night it snowed. About 4 inches of it. In fact, the snow started as I was running a 10 miler last night. It was a really fun run, except for going into the wind, when the snow/sleet mix was blowing into my eyes.

A new toy. Specifically a Blackberry Curve. I finally made the leap from a regular voice cell phone to a smart phone. I feel so connected.....Now I can text, email, take pictures, video, and lots more stuff I'll probably never learn. I even got my work email set up on it without bugging our IT people.

Better Health. I have been slowly increasing my mileage. The right tibia stress fracture has healed nicely and the leg feels better than ever. I have a few issues with hip flexors yet, but that is improving also. I have been doing more proprioceptive exercises to improve my running. This was much needed, as my balance and ankle strength were extremely poor.

Another Ultra? Yes, I am considering doing another ultra again. I really have not scheduled anything yet for 2009 yet. Any suggestions would be welcome....