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….