Tuesday 9 December 2008

MAF Test #2 - Expected improvement

My 10.5 mile run yesterday was the first clear indication that I was turning the corner in relation to recovery from Amsterdam. While the effort felt a bit strenuous at the start despite the relatively low heart rate it became more comfortable as the miles went by and I maintained a comfortable sub 8-minute pace for a sub-143 HR. All in all a 07:36 pace for a 139 average HR. Therefore I knew to expect a big improvement heading into this evenings MAF test which compares to the one 3 weeks ago as follows:- The only negative thing about my running this week was the embarrassment of falling off the treadmill yesterday morning at the gym. I'm not used to treadmill running so early in the morning and a lapse in concentration saw me stumble and while this would not have resulted in a fall had I been on the road in this case the road kept moving at the same pace under me and I ended up on my knees at the back of the machine with my hands instinctively stretched out before me trying to hang on to something. The words "thou shalt not have false gods before thee" came to mind as I knelt in reverence before the treadmill (there may be some truth to that ). The skin burns around my knees and a slight twinge in my back (nothing serious) were the only reminders today (A new injury to add to my list) Mon 8th Dec a.m. 2.5 miles in 20:30 (08:12 pace) treadmill pm. 10.57 miles in 01:20:25 (07:36 pace @ 139 HR) Legs: 7/10 Sleep: 7 hrs 7.5/10 Tue 9th Dec 7.59 miles in 58:20 (07:41 pace @ 138 HR) with 5 evaluation miles @ 143HR 07:12 to 07:33 pace. Legs: 8/10 Sleep: 8.5 hrs 8/10

9 comments:

  1. i need a garmin. it's official. i can only imagine what this kind of data does for your confidence!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Wow - that's an enormous improvement! Knocking a full minute/mile off the pace is huge.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Nice improvement, well done. Keep it up and easy on the mill.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Did anyone video your teadmill accident, I'D LOVE TO SEE THAT ON YOUTUBE!
    I've been watching some pretty interesting treadmill stuff on youtube, such as a 13 year old boy running at 20 mph and a fat cat jogging to lose weight! and last but not least a guy going for the marathon treadmill world record!
    Anyway sound improvement GRElLAN, KEEP THAT UP AND YOU WILL BE WORLD RECORD HOLDER FOR THE MARATHON!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Amsterdam was a long time ago - you should definitely be recovered by now.

    Did you apply for Ballycotton?

    ReplyDelete
  6. Mike, it's not a real 1 minute improvement only getting 90% back to where I was before the Marathon. the rest of the imporvement curve will be fairly flat.

    Rick, No video thank god.

    Thomas, Yes I have applied for Ballycotton which is guaranteed as I did one of their summer 5 milers. Did you apply?

    ReplyDelete
  7. That's a great visual demonstration of improvement. Very encouraging!

    You escaped relatively unscathed - my former training partner broke his arm doing just the same thing.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Hi Grellan

    It looks like you are well on the road to recovery. It must feel really good to be getting your speed back.. finally!

    Best of luck.

    ReplyDelete
  9. That is a new injury and it is unfortunate there is no video to go with it! Looks like you're back on the horse and ready to kick some butt. Good stuff!

    ReplyDelete