Today’s 5 km speed run…

I did my 5 km speed run today and improved my PR slightly from 34:15 to 33:58. Not much of an improvement but I am good with that. Wore my heart rate monitor today and my heart rate was between 150 and 155 going out and past the half way point I was definitely running anaerobically at times. My heart rate maxed out at 175 before I decided to slow down, letting it drop to below 160 again. Then I picked up speed again, repeating the cycle. Yah, the last quarter was definitely anaerobic. It was hard work but sometimes it is good to push your limits. At no time did I reach my maximum heart rate which I have never scientifically had measured but which I suspect to be between 185 and 190. Maybe 200, I don’t know.

For me, running a short distance like 5 km at speed is as hard or harder than a long slow distance run. And it certainly is hard on your body too with the extra landing shock and muscle strain. In a race like that, there is no time to drink any fluids, but since it was such a short distance and the time at just over a half hour, it was easy not to drink anything. I drank lots after the run.

Of course, after the run I stretched carefully and thoroughly and did a few push-ups and crunches, then had a shower and something to eat and drink. Then I went to work and measured my blood pressure and pulse at the local drug store as I was mailing some invoices. My pulse was a bit high at 79 (normal resting for me is 60), possibly because I had just got a call to fix a client’s computer and I was pondering their problem, and my blood pressure was 104 over 68.

Tomorrow is a rest day and the next day (Friday) is an easy 11 km LSD. Saturday is my second LSD at 21 km on the Devon trail system with lots of tough hills and my hydration pack. The Devon trail system is where one of the 5peaks races is held and I think it is the toughest set of hills in the entire Northern Alberta series. Even though the worse hill of all is now off limits due to a landslide, it is still a really tough hill run.

Run on and on and on. And if you meet someone along the way who is limping along, slow down and hold their elbow for a while…