Quite a shocking revelation in today’s ZR track

A couple of days this week were missed due to weather and O/T at work, but still managed to get a reasonable score today.

Threshold run – and messed it up.

Another day of torrential downpour so another missed run. I guess I could run in it, but I’d rather not catch a cold - we’re already stretched at the office as it is…

This run felt pretty good. I touched Yellow again, and pretty much stayed in Green the whole time I needed to be. My average speed went below 7 minutes for the first time in a while, but the blue zones at the start and end always skew the average pace.

Endomondo (which I use in conjunction with miCoach) told me my fastest KM was between approximately 1.25KM into the run and 2.25KM into the run, and that was in 5min 20secs/KM. Still a way to go to beat my Personal Best of 4min 44secs/KM.

I’m not sure how the hell my heart monitor registered I was running at 210BPM when I wasn’t even sprinting. For the first 8 or so minutes of this run I was fiddling with my monitor trying to seat it properly as a result of the OTT BPM.

I missed my hour run today because of the rain. :-(

Just didn’t feel up to it…. V_V

ZR Track

A reasonable run and a reasonable score. Mostly happy with this.

ZR Track

After several below-par scores, it felt good to get a decent score for a change. :-)

ZR Track Here

A long run today, but completely burned out half way, and it turned into a 30 minute run instead of a 1 hour run. Disappointed but there’s always next week…

ZR Track here

Actually managed to hit Yellow Zone today, but this was going a proper 5K route – with a steep incline, which is where my BPM started to climb.

ZR Track here

Still not able to hit Yellow Zone, and the only thing I managed to do today is burn myself out quicker. :-(

Along with Season 1 and Season 2 missions, there are also the Side Missions (S1-S3 at the moment), but there’s also RACE missions, which appear to be distance targetted instead of time targetted. These race missions range from 5K (approx. 3 miles) to 20K (approx 13 miles - this is also almost a Half Marathon distance.) It doesn’t appear to be available for me yet, but it may be because I haven’t completed my rerun of Season 1 yet (just finished Mission 15 out of 23.)

The distance missions would be perfect for my long runs.

ZR Track Here

For today, I had to revert to pace training because I foolishly left my pacer on and it flattened my battery. You can see that my Green Zone is quite narrow and actually, it’s a reasonable effort keeping that pace zone. This is why I need to do my Assessment Workout again.

ZR Track here

There was a huge blip about a third through, not sure what that was. A few blips at the end, but mostly stayed within range for an extended period. Pretty pleased with this long run.

In the recent weeks, with the bombing in Boston at the Marathon there, it has, like many others, no doubt, caused me to reassess and reorganise some of my priorities. I used to run as part of my ongoing physio to heal a fractured metatarsal in my foot. There was no reason for me to run for charity, or anything like that.

Then the bombs hit Boston and in the aftermath, both stories of heroism, and stories of sadness. People who ran towards the chaos to help people. People who lost arms, legs, and, of course, people who lost lives. The most touching one is the one of the 8-year old boy, Martin Richard, killed near the finish line by the bomb.

Although I was not in time to register for the London Marathon, my target is to race at least a Half Marathon next year.

In my recovery time after my fracture, I could not run, I could not walk, but in 6 weeks, I was back to walking and within 3 months, jogging. I recall the feeling of helplessness whilst I was on crutches. Being unable to walk long distances without aid, and near-total reliance on everyone around you. People who have lost limbs because of the bombs will have to endure that for a longer period than I did. I feel for them.

I used to run for fitness. Now, I have a new reason. I run, not just for fitness. I run, not just for physio. I run for everyone who cannot run.

Related articles

• Thousands of London marathon runners observe 30-second silence for Boston (metro.co.uk)
• 25 Photos From The London Marathon Showing Support For Boston (buzzfeed.com)
• London marathon organisers to donate £2 for every finisher to Boston bombings fund (metro.co.uk)
• Silence at start of London Marathon in memory of victims of Boston bomb attacks (standard.co.uk)
• London Marathon raise money for Boston (bigpondnews.com)
• Missoula Marathon registrations up as runners show solidarity with Boston (missoulian.com)
• Pittsburgh Marathon Organizers, Runners Offer Support For Boston (pittsburgh.cbslocal.com)
• Halifax runners pay tribute to Boston Marathon victims (metronews.ca)
• London Marathon crowds undaunted by Boston bombings (telegraph.co.uk)

My Training DVD collection. This is from January 2013, and since this picture was taken I have one new DVD, and another on pre-order.

ZR Track here

Endomondo Track here

My heart went all over the place today. :-(

Evidently, Threshold Runs aren’t my strong point…