Today’s run was a straight through. No sprinting/walking/repeat. Stats in the slide show.

Good morning! Today was a heart rate workout. I started out sprinting until I hit Zone 5. Then I walked until I dropped below the Easy Zone. Then I sprinted again.

So, here are the heart rate zones:

• Red Line – 168 to 158
• Anaerobic – 149 to 157
• Aerobic – 140 to 148
• Fat Burning – 130 to 139
• Easy – 121 to 129

I’m happy. I was able to keep my heart rate going at a good clip without over exerting myself. I did hit a maximum heart rate of 164, but only for about 1 minute and 50 seconds, which isn’t that big a deal. I certainly didn’t feel any negative effects from red lining for that long. And I managed a 4 minute and 30 second half mile – up hill!

So, yes, I am content.

Good morning one and all. Well, probably more like one. As in one reader. Anyway, I did a treadmill run. But instead of pace and distance I did heart rate training. I started out at 7 mph until I hit a heart rate of 159. I then dropped my speed down to 2.5 mph and waited until my heart rate dropped below 113. And then I sped back up. As you can see I did this for 30 minutes and still managed to run for 2 miles. The breakdown of my heart rate zones is as follows: 38% (11:28) in no zone, 16% (4:49) in easy, 13% (3:49) in fat burning, 18% (5:22) in Aerobic, and 15% (4:24) in Anaerobic. My maximum heart rate hit 163.

I believe the next time I do a heart rate run I’ll up my lower end to 119 instead of 113. I would like to even out all the zones. I also adjusted the incline a bit. I might also employ that more. I only did it a few times, and only up to 4 inches. But that’s something to work in more seriously down the line.

It turns out I can’t save the graphs of my heart rate or other information, but at least I can post a map of my run with basic information. It’s better than nothing.

Okay, I finished my run. Actually, I finished it over an hour ago. When I got back I ended up helping Tina finish up the Chili that turned into Goulash. She forgot to get the spices for making Chili, so I recommended Goulash. Now we have Goulash with beans instead of macaroni. Well, the macaroni will be added when we actually eat it. She made enough to feed a family of 10. Most of it will be frozen for later consumption.

Anyway, about the run. I managed 4.2 miles in 47 minutes. I kept my heart rate mostly in the Aerobic range, with 2:22 minutes in the Anaerobic range. I took it easy and still did a good pace. Back when I first started running a 15 minute per mile pace would put my heart rate into the danger zone. Well, for my age anyway.

Okay, I’ve almost finished my second cup of coffee. I’m now working up the motivation to get dressed for my 4th run of the week. it’s 47 minutes long (as discussed earlier I’m doing interval running for weight loss so I don’t run by distance but by time). Today’s run has 4 parts – two are running, one 10 minutes long, the other 35 minutes long. The other two parts are one minute walks.

See you on the other side.

I have been running, despite the lack of posts detailing my progress. Today, though, was extra special for running because it rained. I love running in the rain. Granted, when I first hit the pavement this morning it was nothing short of a mild drizzle. However, as the run progressed the drizzle turned into a light shower, and finally, into a light rain. It wasn’t heavy at all and so I didn’t end up soaked. My shoes weren’t even wet when I finished. But it was enough to keep me cool.

My pace wasn’t bad either. My first mile was 9:35. After that the pace turned into 11:05 and 11:26. However, those times also included one minute walks. I’m still doing an interval weight loss running plan. It makes me break up my runs into parts. So far they all include 3 one minute walking intervals.

Also, up until this week I’ve been running three days per week – Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays. Now the plan ups it to 4 days a week, which means Saturdays as well. So far I’ve been hovering around 215 to 220 in weight. But I have noticed my pants are getting looser around the waist and my belt is not at tight at the fifth sinch (hole).

The improvement with my pace since I started interval training is amazing. Today I ran my first mile in 9:24 minutes. One of those minutes was a walking interval. I ran a total of 2.89 miles in 30:04 seconds, with 4 of those minutes walking intervals! I’m consistently running better paces than I have ever done before.

I’ve started an interval training plan through Runtastic. So far I’ve been feeling pretty good about the workouts. I definitely feel both less wore out and yet still well exercised. I’m also suspecting the training will increase my distance stats – once I finish this plan in October.