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myER Entry 08

cjhoffmn's picture
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320 days
started by cjhoffmn on November 24, 2007

Last night was the first run I've had using the ER that I'd put in that category we probably all know - that run where nothing really felt right. It wasn't a bad run, but it was one of those where I just couldn't really get started.

I went out for a zone 2 in about 30 degrees, but dry weather, at about 9pm. I'm a little out of whack on sleep, and I was feeling a little heavy and bloated from a little too much Turkey day eating. Otherwise, no reason to suspect a bad run - I usually really love running in the cold as I am usually really hot.

I don't have the stats in front me now, but they were something like 4 ish miles at an avg pace in the high 9's, Avg HR squarely in zone 3 most of the run except for one quarter mile interval I mixed in where I hit zone 4.

I will note that for a "not-so-good" run, the style definitely was more comfortable than my older style. This was the first night that I even wanted to revert to my old stride, and after I did for about 50 yards, I immediately wanted to go back to ER, which I did. Also, I appreciated free speed on downhills even more than usual.

A few findings: when running rough, I found I drifted out in front with my footfall. I also tended to rotate my hips forward - leaning from the hips instead of the ankles. Also, the heel flick was non existent for me - my legs felt heavy and slow and I couldn't seem to change that condition. I was especially rough in the middle ground - running 8:45 or so with HR at about 145-150 really didn't feel good.

No real muscle soreness during the run except for the interval. I'm still a little puzzled about the high heart rate with seemingly no muscle issues, but I'm thinking its the different muscle groups being used differently. I'm not too concerned with that yet - still mostly trying to keep the form, but its still puzzling.

My one interval was pretty nice - I did a quarter mile at about the 2.5mile mark in an avg 6:24min/mile pace. Probably the only part of the run that felt "good," but it was a big effort. One thing I did notice was that my glutes felt seriuosly worked once I slowed down.

Today I felt fine, maybe some soreness in my quads this morning, but nothing serious. I did an hour zone 2 spin tonight and felt pretty good afterwards.

To tri or not to tri - that's not a question at all!