Mark your calendars
I mentioned some weeks ago that my fitness class instructor has decided that our team goal is to run a 5k, and here it is, the Bolder Dash on September 20. *gulp*
Actually, I'm pretty confident that I can complete it, but I'm not expecting to be thrilled with my time. I recently had my metabolic assessment test (complete with oxygen mask, but that's a tale for another day) and have learned that my anaerobic threshold (AT) is 154 bpm. That means that muscle fatigue notwithstanding, as long as I keep my heart rate below 154 bpm, my endurance (heart- and breathing-wise) is pretty much infinite. The catch? Because up until now I hadn't been exercising specifically with the goal of raising my AT, keeping below 154 amounts to something between a very light jog and a shuffle. It's possible to raise the AT, but only by continuing to train below it, which is what I'm working on now.
Saturday evening I road ran for the first time as a trial. I was able to stay below 154 for probably 98% of the time, but I hit 160 a couple times on uphills. My pace was probably something around a 14- or 15-minute mile (that's really slow!).
I have my work cut out for me now. Wish me luck.
Actually, I'm pretty confident that I can complete it, but I'm not expecting to be thrilled with my time. I recently had my metabolic assessment test (complete with oxygen mask, but that's a tale for another day) and have learned that my anaerobic threshold (AT) is 154 bpm. That means that muscle fatigue notwithstanding, as long as I keep my heart rate below 154 bpm, my endurance (heart- and breathing-wise) is pretty much infinite. The catch? Because up until now I hadn't been exercising specifically with the goal of raising my AT, keeping below 154 amounts to something between a very light jog and a shuffle. It's possible to raise the AT, but only by continuing to train below it, which is what I'm working on now.
Saturday evening I road ran for the first time as a trial. I was able to stay below 154 for probably 98% of the time, but I hit 160 a couple times on uphills. My pace was probably something around a 14- or 15-minute mile (that's really slow!).
I have my work cut out for me now. Wish me luck.