Town Lake Friday

It feels good to be on the the Town Lake trails on any day of the week, but for some reason I especially enjoy them on Friday afternoons and Sunday mornings. Friday afternoon, as it's a nice release from a week of work. Sunday, as the trail is less crowded and for me, is better than any church I've been to.

My last run around Town Lake had been three weeks ago and it was my best run since I started back to running [4.5M/40.10.40,8:53/M pace]. The time before that, I ran with a co-worker and I ran a disappointing 49 minute something as I stopped after the small hill, across from the vacant Seaholm Power Plant with my heart rate at 94% max. He and I ran again today and while I didn't feel as good as three weeks ago, it felt much better than the last time he and I ran together. My heart rate climbed close or above 170 well before the second mile. It later descended to 165. As I wasn't huffing and puffing like before, I can only imagine that my maximum HR has increased with the training. We were both able to carry on a conversation during the run, so clearly I wasn't near maximum at 170. My age maximum is supposed to be 177.

The weather was almost perfect. The winds died down and the temperature was in the high seventies which is just weird for January. The cedar pollen count was up over 4,400 which hasn't affected me this year as in the past. The humidity was hovering at 35%, which was higher than the 13% we experienced the other day, but it still seemed really dry.

The final time for the 4.5 mile lap was 40.41. Just a few seconds slower than the best. We stopped three times to check my heart rate, so I'm happy with the time. We split at this point and I decided to run another 4.5 miles at a slower pace to get in some more miles before the 3M Half Marathon next week. Time for that lap was 50.32 with a heart rate of about 140. It felt very comfortable running the second lap. My Asics felt great and didn't seem to be rubbing or causing any blisters. I stopped into Runtex and picked up a pair of running socks before the run, as the ones I brought didn't wick the moisture. This proved to be a good move. The shoes, combined with the thinner socks, made my feet feel great throughout the run.

Now for a little ice on the knees and tomorrow a day of rest.

0 Comments:

Post a Comment

<< Home