Tuesday December 5, 2006, 10 miles indoors

NSP Community Center track, ten mi in 1:26:09, pace 8:37. Again did some metrics, because it’s so easy to hold an exact pace on a track that has 13 time checks per mile. This time my heart rate was 146, not especially low. So much for all of the self-congratulations of two days ago! HR went right up there early and stayed there. Why was it low Sunday and not today? Maybe any or all of several reasons: (1) Sunday the pace was 9:00, today 8:37; (2) Sunday I just ran, but today took water and gels at intervals appropriate for marathon training, thus increasing the need for oxygen; (3) I had lunch a couple of hours before running Sunday, only a latte this morning; and (4) I didn’t “carb up” at all last night; maybe not enough in the tank.

Soon I will step it up to marathon pace again and see if the HR goes even higher. I don’t think I should run a marathon at a pace much higher than 146, which is 87% of max HR. Maybe today was atypical; I hope so, but time will tell. Maybe the answer is that HR metrics are bad if I obsess on them. No worries when I leave the HR monitor at home :-)

The right hamstrings ached a little during the cool-down walk. Nuts. Well I’m not going to stop again; if 18 days off didn’t do it then I need a better plan. Maybe try a massage terapist - never tried that before. I did some deep massage on it myself last night, and it hurt a little afterward. Might have caused today’s ache myself; better leave that stuff to the professionals.

North St Paul Community Center is such a nice facility. Because A & I are seniors, we get a rate of $165 per year even though we are non-residents. It’s a bit of a drive, but the indoor track alone is well worth it, and the cross-training equipment is quite adequate.