The Proof is in the PR

I decided it was time to call off my self-pity party and take stock of where I'm at.

I've had lots of good intentions for LSD workouts, but between them being a bit boring and the fact that I get so bummed out when I'm limited to walking... well, let's just admit that I haven't been perfect about them and leave it at that. I've been doing them with regularity, but certainly not by the book.

My Wednesdays have been discombobulated for quite a while now, because they used to be my lift weights and swim day. When I got the trainer I started doing some biking to replace the swimming. Now the PT won't let me bike either. So I geared up for the gym out of habit this morning with no clear idea what to do even though by process of elimination I didn't have much of a choice.

I decided to just run. No plans, no goals. Just pick a speed, let 'er rip, and see what happened. Figure out where I'm really, truly at, and where I fall on the idiot scale for still wanting that half-marathon in six months.

I have a theory that jogging is rougher and perhaps the reason I have yet to conquer the walk/jog LSD speed crossover is that a plodding jog actually seems to take a lot more out of me than an easy run, even though an easy run puts my HR in the 170s-180s. With that in mind, I picked a speed I knew would put me into running and not jogging - 4.5 mph (13:20 pace).

Then I just ran. And they were the best miles of my life. (Check it out! Miles - plural!)

I could breath. Nothing hurt. I could talk. I was lip synching with my music. I was happy. This has got to be what running is all about.

My HR was at 188 almost dead-on for about the first 30 minutes, then drifted up to 195 over the last 15 minutes. I was going to shoot for 4 miles, but when it inched over 200 I decided it was time to stop. I still felt fine, was having a nice conversation with the guy beside me about local races... but 200 seemed scary.

I know that sounds insanely high, but in my case it's a huge improvement (aside from the fact that mine seems to run quite a bit higher in general than most people). Last summer even an easy jog at a 15:00 pace would send it skyrocketing in the first few seconds from 130s to 190s. It was painful and awful. Every step was torture and every breath felt like it was being ripped out of me. If I really pushed, I could go maybe 5-10 minutes. Never before did I have the fitness to keep my heart at a steady rate - let alone for 30 minutes!

That's what I expected today, and I simply can't believe I just ran - RAN!!!! - 3.5 miles. Not just without stopping... but without wanting or needing to stop at the end.

Clearly, the numbers need to be lower. And I'll keep working with LSD to get them lower. Even though I have yet to conquer the lower HR aspect of LSD, it's already working its magic.

Distance: 3.5 miles (PR for distance)
Time: 46:45
5K split: 41:30 (5K PR by 2:29)