Running is so much easier when you aren’t gasping for air

Ran 3.2 miles last night using my heart rate monitor. Man, that thing is uncomfortable! I hate feeling even more constricted with that thing wrapped around my ribcage, but I am really liking using the hr numbers to guide my run.



I looked it up here, and found out that my weight control zone is around 144-155, and my aerobic zone is around 155-166. So I tried to keep my heart rate within those parameters on last nights run – had to slow down, and definitely walk a couple of times to keep it low enough.

I think part of why my body wasn’t handling the mileage of the last few weeks/months is because I was running the majority of my runs at a way higher heart rate. I’d bet money I was running them in my anaerobic zone or higher. No wonder my body was like, um……NO. From what I now understand, those types of runs should happen once or twice (?) a week – think tempo, or speed work – not every day! I was trying to get faster by just running faster on every run – thinking my body would eventually adapt. Maybe that works for some people, I don’t know. But my body broke down instead. Ah well!  Now I know better.

Anyway, it was a beautiful run, and so nice to not feel like dying while gasping for air. I look forward to doing a tempo run each week, and maybe even some speed work eventually, but for my other runs? It feels like the pressure is off (self induced pressure, no doubt) and running can go back to being relaxing again.

I’m already looking forward to today’s run.

thought this was funny

As for the rest of the day……..

It’s gonna be a little housework, a little business work, maybe a little beach ‘work’. Most importantly:



this guy is coming HOME tonight. He has been out of town for work and having the house to myself is getting old.