Run Test Torture

I woke up this morning and was able to get my swim in. Sheena and I met at the pool just after 5am for our workout. This week I did a few drills but focused a bit more on trying to increase my swim endurance. I feel I am in good shape for about 400-500 meters but soon there after I start to feel a dramatic drop off. Next week I am going to do a one mile time trial and continue it for the weeks leading up to Boise.

So all day long I was regretting the run test I had planned after work. Apparently some exercise genius thought that if you run for 8 minutes around a track as hard as you can that you can figure all your heart rate zones for working out. Each zone is used to help you during your training and can also be used during longer races. I met Jessi there and after a quick warm-up the test began.

The first two laps were pretty good. Since there were a bunch of kids practicing running in lanes 1-6 I was forced to do the workout in lane 7. This plays some mind tricks because 4 laps in lane 1 equals a mile but in lane 7 it is much more. The first 5 minutes or so felt pretty good and then the legs began to get tired. With each lap Jessi would yell out my time and I could see I was a few seconds slower each lap. On the last lap I had to have looked at my watch every 5 seconds waiting for it to reach 8 minutes. At one point I could have sworn that the clock was actually going backwards.

The run test was well worth it. After some fancy calculations I have my heart rate zones and this should help me get ready for the season ahead. I should have probably done this a long time ago but there is no time like the present. I figured out my pace for the 8 minute torture and it came to 5:55/mile. I am really excited about this because I have never really been a runner and for me that seems pretty fast. I wish I could have held it for more than 1.35 miles but that is a work in progress. Maybe next year I could average that for Bloomsday, you never know.