I conveniently forgot...

...just how tough the Jack Daniel's Track-Long (no track) workout is. This morning I woke up with some painful memories as to the first time I did this EXACT workout of:

2 mile warmup

5x(5minutes at Threshold Pace + 1 minute recovery)

60 minutes Easy

Threshold Pace = 6:04/5:59/5:54 min/mile for VDOT's 58/59/60 respectively

The goal of today's run (i.e. threshold training) is to hold down blood-lactate accumulation and minimize its effects for longer at faster and faster running speeds.

Granted, I have done similar, equally brutal workouts with the Striders (basically it is the same lactic-acid burning torture, just packaged a little differently) but I definitely have vivid memories of the last time I did this same workout about ~ 1 year ago on the Rice University track and Brayes Bayou. It was hot, it was gross, but it was amazing the wonders it did for my confidence! So, before embarking on today's run, I was full of hope for how wonderful this run would make me feel about my running!

Perhaps I am blogging to soon after I have finished the workout because I feel totally wiped out! Also, in preparation for higher mileage next week, I opted for 50 minutes of easy afterwards (as opposed to 1 hour). To stop the suspense, here is what happened:

2.18 mile warmup (7:23/7:27/7:21)

5x5min Threshold (results expressed as average pace)

1. 5:58 min/mile

2. 6:00 min/mile

3. 5:54 min/mile (slight decline for 1/2)

4. 5:59 min/mile

5. 6:02 min/mile (uphill and head wind)

50 minutes Easy (6.5 miles): (7:24/7:14/7:15/7:22/7:28/7:21/7:21 min/mile)

Total WEEKLY Distance: 42.92 miles (weekly goal = 42miles)

Here is a plot of my run. I labelled the BEGINNING of EACH threshold section.

Here is my HR (red) vs pace graph.

There are a couple things of interest to point out. First, note the difficulty I had in the final Threshold section (40-45minutes) - this one felt more like an Interval session on the track vs. a proper Threshold run. Second, you will see in the final 5o minutes of easy pace moments where the HR drops significantly. This is because I was waiting for traffic or I was getting water. Note that after the first dip in HR, I could not achieve the same elevated HR response as I was getting when I finished the Threshold (although my pace remained consistent). A second step-down in HR occured after the second stop. This is always good for me to remember - sometimes just a minute to regroup can make a significant impact on the work required for my body to complete the rest of the workout. In the case of today's workout however, that was not really a desired effect.

Other than burning the miles I saw a guy riding a bike with a parrot on his shoulder and I saw I woman fall off her bike after hitting an unleashed dog. So, despite the pain I had out there today, I am pretty sure that my time at the park was still better than some other's out there today!

All in all, this was a nice finish to a nice recovery week!