Saturday, December 27, 2008

Saturday Morning Run

Despite yesterday's rain and mist the roads were not glare ice this morning so I headed out for my Saturday morning run. I meet a group of folks in Proctor and hit the roads for 5 miles, followed by breakfast. With all the snow we have had, the roads have been pretty mushy. Not much helps when running in that stuff. Screw shoes aren't very effective, but they were great on the sections of plowed road that had a bit of ice on them.

Have started using the heart rate monitor again. Interesting observations on todays run:

5 miles - 45:53
Average HR: 165
Peak HR: 215
Minimum HR: 92

Was chatting with another runner the whole time, though not always easily ;-> Now, according to previous calculations my max HR should be around 200 bpm. After all I am 43. So, what does this mean???? Either my max HR calculation is way off or.... I have an innate ability to run at higher heart rates and this bodes well for longer distance races. Like the positive spin on that ;->

Would love some input on this. Don't think it is an issue with the monitor as these type of readings have been pretty consistent since I got the thing.

Took this past week off of running. Just couldn't get motivated to run in the dark and cold Wednesday - or any other day for that matter. Did get a couple days of skiing in (classic) on a local trail. First time out in almost a year (bad snow year for most of 2008, plus dislike using waxes/klister for over 30 degrees). Could feel it in all those little muscles that don't get much use otherwise.

So, hope to get in a ski at least twice per week and run 2-3 days a week while the snow lasts. Need to finalize my training plan soon, in only a few weeks I need to get consistent about running and start building mileage.

On the knitting front:





Finished! On Christmas Day even, so though the recipient will not receive them for a week or so at least I got them done for Christmas ;->

No pictures of the socks in progress.... that will happen when they are finished and gifted. They are very colorful though, more so than I expected by looking at the skein.

8 comments:

Chris said...

Yay for the finished mitts! At last! Freedom! ;)

Yikes, running here after how warm Friday was... oy. It's an adventure even trying to walk or drive.

wildknits said...

Such a weight has been lifted from my shoulders ;->

Washed and lightly blocked them yesterday.

Running hasn't been too bad here. Hit the trails today, good grip with my screw shoes, though did go in up to my knees whenever I stepped off the trail.

SteveQ said...

215 is exceptionally, freakishly high for a maximum heart rate. My monitor occasionally registers 235-238, but it's due to an irregularity in rhythm. Still, a 165 average is pretty darn high, too.

Swimming, biking and running! said...

Congrats on the Bird mitts, they look great ! Nice Christmas tree and love the sunrise pics !

Anonymous said...

Might be a family thing. Mine is always way high. My doctors have totally checked out my heart at this point and all is well. It's just the way I am. We seem to have a lot of those biological quirks.

So glad you finished the mittens and don't have to worry about them anymore - other than if they will be lost or not. They look great! Can't wait to see them in person.

Jenny

wildknits said...

Minimum heart rate was during the run - my resting is way lower... like 48-56. Can make it hard to donate blood ;->

Thanks Jim! The mittens are being worn on a regular basis. Now, if she loses them... no replacements till I finish therapy.

Swimming, biking and running! said...

loving my new scarf and hat from dear Mom, get some strange looks wearing the hat, my Sis said it makes me look "metrosexual", I guess I don't fit in well in Big Lake, now Uptown would be a whole diff story !

Steve Emmert said...

I suspect that 215 peak HR is an errant reading. Used to happen to me all the time w/ my Polar HRMs. Could be interference from some external source, or intermittent contact at your chest strap. Keep an eye on your monitor during the course of your typical runs, and over time you should come to have a very good idea what your HR is for a given perceived effort. If your monitor suddenly jumps from 165 to 215 w/ no major change in your effort, then of course it's an errant reading.