That's what my phone calls it when I try to keep my heart rate in the "easy" zone, which is what my training plan calls for this week. It's pretty sad, and hard, to run that slow. It's actually quite tiring. According to my plan, my recovery week called for 16 to 18 miles of easy running. That's a lot of slow miles. I want to hide while I am running these slow miles. Yes, I am prideful about running. If I'm going to run in public then, by gosh, I am going to look like I know what I'm doing, like I've been running for more than a week.
I just finished the book 80/20 Running by Matt Fitzgerald. I think I have just about all of his books. When I'm not running I enjoy reading about running. Anyway, he states the case that if you want to run faster, you need to slow down. At first, I was like, "Yeah, yeah I'm already a slow runner, why would I need to slow down?" He references study after study to prove his point. It gets downright boring. So, I am testing this theory. I just didn't realize how slow I would have to run. But thanks to my new Garmin, it tells me exactly how slow I have to go before my heart rate enters the aerobic zone.
Today's run of 5.5 miles was painful. It was hot to begin with and I was tired. Sometimes when I am tired I actually speed up to get the run over with. But, I stuck to my plan of keeping it easy even though it didn't feel like it. I had to stop and walk several times just to bring my heart rate down. Anyway, both Gus and I survived. It doesn't matter to him how slow I go. It just gives him more opportunities to chase rabbits, although he wasn't chasing many today because it was so hot.
Next week is hills/strength phase and I'm actually looking forward to it.
