Running with Heart...

Joy here...So Tuesday was scheduled as another dreaded tempo run, and seeing as my how last tempo run just wasn't up to snuff, I was a little bit apprehensive about how I'd be able to handle this tempo run.  Instead of two 15 minute sets of tempo pace with a 3 minute break in between, this week we were scheduled for two 20 minute sets of tempo pace with a 3 minute break in between.  However, because last week's failed tempo pace made me feel like crap about myself and my running, I decided that I wouldn't look at pacing at all this time.  I would run the entire run purely using my heart rate monitor.  I figured that tempo pace is supposed to feel "comfortably hard" (there's an oxymoron for you!), and it would be better if I just went based on how my running felt rather than on what my Garmin told me my objective pace was. The whole obsession with pace comes from the Daniels' Running Formula that The Man swears by, but I'm starting to think that the whole notion of taking guidance from someone named JACK DANIELS might be a little foolhardy.  I mean, seriously.  So even though Guru Jack Daniels says that our tempo runs should be around 4:44min/km, I think he should just go back to making southern corn mash and leave this Canadian girl alone!  

By ignoring his advice and instead of fixating on trying to get my pace to 4:44min/km during those two 20 minute sets, I just focused on keeping my heart rate in the 160 beats/min range.  We started off with 35 minutes of easy running to warm up, and I kept my heart rate around 147 beats/min during this part of the run.  Then we did our two tempo sets, with The Man about a consistent 500 meters ahead of me, and then cooled down with about 10 minutes of easy running.  And even though it was HOT; even though my camelbak chafed the skin on my shoulders until I bled; even though I was back to my lamaze breathing; even though a blister on my foot exploded (rather painfully, I might add); even though there were times when I wanted to quit and jump into the canal...even through all of that, I was able to keep my heart rate consistent and complete the workout as planned, which is itself no mean feat.

So my run stats for Tuesday are:
Ran for a total of 1:25:41 for a distance of 15.15km with an average pace of 5:38min/km (comprised of:
-35 minutes of easy running at around 5:55min/km
-2 sets of tempo running at around 5:00min/km for 20 minutes a piece
-10 minutes of easy running to cool down)

Even though I'm not up to Guru Jack Daniels' standards, I have to be pleased enough with that for now.  And I've learned that I'd much rather run looking at my heart rate rather than a pace that I just can't increase.  I mean when you're running as fast as you can, if your Garmin tells you it's just not fast enough, there's not a whole heck of a lot you can do, is there?  But if your Garmin tells you that your heart rate is slowing down a bit, then you know that you can push yourself just a little bit further to get it back up there.

So the moral of the story is that I think I'll just run with heart rate for the next little while, and ignore my pace until the end of the run when all I'm doing is checking the stats, for information purposes only, not so that I can try to change/adjust that pace in mid-run.  I tell you, that's just a recipe for disappointment!

Over and out,

Joy