Pace: Undetermined (see below), but definitely under 7 minutes
Heart Rate: 165
Wine: 3 glasses of Dynamite Cabernet last night (a very long night of pizza and wine with friends)
Finally, I get to use Slo Jo's format! Some of you may have noticed that I have not yet reported any actual running or wine drinking activity that occurred during this blog's lifespan. You are perceptive. That is because (1) I only run if I have to and I don't have to yet because it's only August (I have been boxing, but as this is not a boxing blog, I've spared you the details) and (2) I have decided not to drink wine on weekdays, barring some special event, until after the marathon. Yesterday was Friday . . . wine!
Since this is the week of my "starting" measurements (body fat, Vo2, etc.), I decided to see how fast I can run a mile. I suspected I could do it in about 7 minutes and really hoped I could break 7 minutes. This was also a good opportunity to try out my heart rate monitor that I got for my MapMyRun app. As an aside, I love love LOVE MapMyRun. It tells me my time and pace at each mile and also has a handy map for running in new cities. Then it breaks down all kinds of awesome stats after the run: elevation, climbs, splits, and now heart rate! The monitor connects via blue tooth to my phone. Score! I will use it to make sure I'm in a good training zone on distance runs as I struggle with finding a pace I can sustain long term.
Back to the run. One mile: no biggie, right? Not when you're sprinting. I started out feeling good. It was 6:30 am and the sidewalk was packed. There are a lot of retirees in my neighborhood and they were all out walking this morning, some with pets. It was like an obstacle course at times. One very elderly man using a walker, not seeing me, actually decided to enter the sidewalk right in front of me causing me to dodge him in rather spectacular fashion. Fortunately for him, the agility ladders at boxing class have paid off and I avoided him.
I ran like I've never run before, or so it felt. When fatigue kicked in, I made the mistake of looking at my phone to see how far I'd gone. It was a big mistake that I only made once; I was only a HALF a mile in. Oh hell, grit, right? Well a half mile of oxygen-deprived sprinting tested the limits of my grit. I dug in and ran until I was literally seeing spots in my periphery and pain was radiating under my collar bone. Finally, MapMyRun announced "Distance: One Mile!" The three most beautiful words I have heard in a long time. I did not collapse onto the ground like I wanted, but broke into a walk instead to recover. Today I learned it is challenging to simultaneous gasp for air and try to hold down the coffee that so desperately wants to climb back out of your stomach. When the dizziness passed, I looked at my stats. Duration: 6:55; Pace: 6:56; 1 Mile Split: 6:52. Eh? Which is it? I'll go with the middle number and call it 6:55.
This is just one of the useful summaries MapMyRun gives. It also told me I climbed a total of 82 feet during this mile. That is 70 more feet than the elevation of the NOLA marathon.
According to a recent Runners World article about one mile races, this makes me a slightly faster than a strong "local" competitor and nowhere near a strong "regional" competitor. I'm not sure what that means, exactly, but I'll take it.
If only I was 60 or older . . .
By the way, despite the fact the sun had just come up, it was already hot and (for Phoenix) humid. Maybe I'll try this again when it cools off.
No wonder all the senior citizens were out walking. In an hour, it will be unbearable!
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