Long Recovery Run Sunday

on Sunday, May 27, 2007 at 3:05 PM

Friday: Did 2x1200 + 2x800 + 2x400 at the track with a short warm-up and cool down.

Lap Lap Time Distance Pace
2 04:53.0 1200 06:32.9
4 04:51.2 1200 06:30.5
6 03:16.6 800 06:35.5
8 03:18.3 800 06:38.9
10 01:36.0 400 06:26.2
12 01:38.7 400 06:37.1

I still have a tendency to start off each interval fast and then slow down towards the end, except for the 2nd interval where it seems I was able to maintain the pace towards the end. The highest HR I hit was 189 which was during that second interval. Used 200m walking recoveries, except for the recovery between the last two 400m when I did a jog recovery. That resulted in the last 400m being tough. HR shot up and pace was down a bit, almost the slowest interval of the session.

Saturday: Did 5km recovery run.

Today: Did 15.5 miles at recovery run pace. I haven't been too happy with my reocvery runs these last couple of weeks. I usually try and do them at a HR of less than 150, but as of late, my HR has been in the low to mid 150's while doing them. I just haven't gotten used to what a recovery run should feel like with all the speed and LT work I've been doing these past few weeks. So today, I decided I would do my whole long run at recovery HR which is under 150. I thought it would be good to do this now, since my 18 week marathon training starts this week. Also this is the first time in over 2 months where I've run on three consecutive days, so it just made sense to take it easy.

Lap Lap Time
Lap Lap Time
1 09:40.4
9 09:04.7
2 09:25.9
10 09:13.6
3 09:22.1
11 09:26.7
4 09:23.6
12 09:22.6
5 09:35.1
13 09:23.9
6 09:22.8
14 09:22.2
7 09:23.0
15 09:29.9
8 09:22.1
16 04:48.3

So in terms of my marathon training plan, I've decided to use Pfitz' 18/55 mile plan again. I had wanted to try and do the 70 mile plan in the hopes that more mileage would lead to a better shot of BQ'ing in the fall, but thinking back to last year, I was barely able to handle the 55mile plan. I had thought of trying to split the difference like Ryan is doing, but coming back from injury and still feeling the odd ache and pain, I think it's best to air on the side of caution. I'm going to change the plan slightly over the next couple of weeks to accommodate a 5k and a 10k race on some of the upcoming Saturdays. I plan to do longish recovery runs the day after which shouldn't screw up the overall training effect. My hope is that the races will give me a baseline of my current fitness and allow me to determine come September if a BQ attempt is realistic.

Happy running all!

9 comments:

Sonia said...

Great run, caution is indeed the best way to prevent another injury! Good luck on your 18 weeks plan!

Mia said...

So which heart rate monitor do you use to upload such pretty graphs?!

Great job on your run.

Also, thanks so much for the marathon guide link ;) Very helpful! I'll keep you posted on which race I choose. Meanwhile, I'll make sure to stop by your blog regularly, from now on.

Ryan said...

Fran, been catching up with you here and this is great stuff. First, why are you running such long distances at recovery pace? I can't remember what plan you used last year, but I'm convinced that following Pfitz's 55mpw program tightly will get you to Boston. I think you ran under 3:20 last year, right? Lastly, what marathon will you be running for your BQ?

Colleen said...

Nice job on the sppedwork and long recovery run!

I can't believe marathon training "season" is starting again. I'm feeling anxious about it beginning next week for me. What marathon are you doing in the fall?

Arcane said...

Thanks all!

I'll be doing the scotiabank waterfront marathon in my home town on September 30. At least that's the plan.

Mia. Graphs are done by the software that comes with my Polar HR monitor.

Ryan. I used the Pfitz 18/55 plan last year and did 3:17. I had some good success with running long recovery runs last year in the weeks prior to starting the Chicago training program since it gave me a pretty good base. I thought I'd try it again. The long run paces will get faster though.

Anonymous said...

How do you determine your heart rate profile?

yumke said...

I'm so impressed with your track times! Do you run your 1200 intervals at 5K race pace or even faster?

I'll be doing the half Scotia ... hhopefully will be able to see you BQ!

Arcane said...

Perry. Pfitzinger provides HR ranges based on a HR reserve calculation which has proven quite accurate for me in the past.

Yumke. Yeah the plan is to do them at 5k pace. I haven't done a 5k race in over a year so I"m kinda guessing on what the pace should be.

Perry said...

I'll have to check that out. Yesterday, I did a run with an average heart rate of >185. I just need to figure out what my real max is I guess.

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