Week 5 – Key Run Workout #2 – Mad Dogs and Englishmen

What’s that saying? Maybe it should be Mad Bulldogs and Welshmen?! These workouts in the heat are really tough but my choices are quite limited. I checked the weather forecast last night and even if I got up at 4:30am to run, it would have been 84°F! I figured I’d take my chances (again) and risk a late afternoon workout instead.

Now I’m following the FIRST to the Finish Marathon Training Program, I’m only running 3 days a week, but every run is an intense one. The heat wouldn’t be so much of an issue if it was just a gentle 5 or 6 miler, but for half of the 6 miles tonight I’d be working at about 90% of my full potential.

Key Workout #2 of Week 5 calls for 2 miles easy, followed by 3 miles at ST (Short Tempo) pace, followed by a mile easy to cool down. Short Tempo for me is currently a swift 6:08 per mile pace, which I knew wouldn’t be easy tonight.

The first 2 miles were fine (8:22 and 7:27). I stopped for a quick drink at a water fountain before setting off on the 3 short tempo miles. I completed mile #1 in 6:17 (9 seconds outside of the goal), with my heart rate topping out at 167bpm. I slowed to a 6:23 for the second mile, but my heart rate went up to 171bpm. It took almost everything I had to even finish the third mile, but I was pleasantly surprised to finish the mile in 6:20 – 3 seconds quicker than the second one and just 12 seconds slower than goal pace. Maximum heart rate for the third mile was 173 beats per minute and I literally had nothing left at the end of it.

I walked for a short time to allow my heart rate to recover, before setting off on a slow jog back to the car. Considering the almost 90°F temperature and oh so high humidity, I musty say I’m quite pleased with my effort tonight. I just wish the temperature would go down for a week or two so I could test myself in normal conditions.

Saturday sees another race on my calendar, the ASYMCA Mud Run – an 8k race on mud and sand with the odd obstacle thrown in for good measure! Should be fun, but don’t expect any fast times….

2 thoughts on “Week 5 – Key Run Workout #2 – Mad Dogs and Englishmen”

  1. I’ve been tracking your progress too! I’m impressed by your treadmill workouts and huge amounts of cross training. You’re going to smash your marathon PR I’m sure…

    Thanks for the comment,

    –steve

    Reply

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.