Friday's uphill treadmill tempo was a great confidence run for me. What we used to say about running on the track also holds true for treadmills, they don't lie. I was supposed to run at a 7% incline for 30 minutes at 9 minute mile pace. This isn't any where near as easy as it sounds, try it some time! I was able to hold pace without collapsing or falling off the back for 15 minutes, eased up for 5 minutes at 9:15 pace then finished with the last 10 minutes back at 9 minute pace. This kept my heart rate in my lactate threshold range for the entire time, around 168-172. I have been doubting my conditioning lately, but this workout went better than I expected and because the treadmill doesn't lie, I feel better about my current fitness level.
Yesterday was a quick and fun 40 minutes on single track and double track early in the morning. So early in fact, I went back to bed after I got back home. I'm just not cut out for that early morning stuff. Mid morning is my most energetic and productive time of day. When I got back up I went for a 3 1/2 hour mountain bike ride on the local trails. I had a lot of fun and felt very energetic during the ride. Because I was feeling so good, I tried a few little things that I probably shouldn't have and ended up on the ground a few times. On the way home, I even wiped out on the half mile stretch of sidewalk between the trail and my house. But it's all fun!
Today will be an hour at marathon pace effort. I go by heart rate since I don't want to run on the road and really have no idea what my current marathon pace would even be. I know marathon pace effort is a heart rate of about 165, just below threshold. Some day I may put in some speed work and run another road marathon just to see if I have any speed left at all. I'd have to decide I cared enough about it to put in the effort. We'll see. Never say never.
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