5k HR Test

I completed base training block #1 with a 5K HR Test. The week leading up to it, Dan and I were discussing whether or not my fragile and delicate legs (my injury) would be able to withstand that kind of running, and although I agreed to it, I was terrified. Yes, I had been putting a lot of time and effort into my physical therapy, but it doesn't mean I'm totally confident that it will hold. During my Christmas holiday I was doing PT and yoga nearly twice a day, also praying that my knee would hold out.

Come Sunday morning, I was up at 6:45, although we weren't running until 8am. I did some PT and stretches, drank half a bottle of Salted Caramel Infinit, ate some gluten free pretzels and two clementines. I had no idea what to eat before running because in the two weeks leading up to it, I hadn't identified anything that was compatible with my GI tract.

At 8am, Julie and I left my parents house and began my ZR plod warmup. If you don't know what a plod is, it's the speed of a walk but you look like you are running. Julie walked beside me because she hadn't left her pride at the door. We got to the service road where we were going to start our run and I did a few 100meter strides to get warmed up, then we were off.

Julie held my watch the whole time and didn't tell me anything about my pace or my HR, but I was able to hear the bing of my Garmin, alerting me to when I reached new mile markers.

Mile 1: 7:50, Average HR: 178
Julie kept telling me to slow down. It'd been the first time I ran that fast and smooth since before my injury and it felt good, even though Julie kept telling me to slow down. I then found out my first quarter of a mile was about a 6:00/mile pace. It was great having Julie run beside me, to hold my watch and keep me motivated. If I was the one holding my watch, my eyes would be on it non-stop and that wouldn't have ended well. I heard the noise of my Garmin, notifying me it had been one mile, well 2.1 to go!

Mile 2: 8:52, Average HR: 187
Well, I'd describe that second mile as the third 50 of a 200 freestyle. You're just thinking "when is this going to be done?" Then I thought, shoot, I would still have 12 miles at this point left in my race, glad it's several months away. Julie kept telling me that my heart rate was good and my goal time was still going to be shattered. I remember asking Julie what pace this would be for her, when she would ever run whatever pace I was holding. She told me, super easy run on a 100 degree day. Awesome, thanks Julie.

Mile 3: 9:13, Average HR: 190
As seen by my pacing, I lack in that department, but it wasn't about my pacing, it was about my HR. It hurt like hell, that last mile. Julie was singing to me, and saying motivational things to me, and yelling at me when my HR dropped. I don't think I could've done that last mile without her. At about the 20:00 mark, my knee started getting uncomfortable but Julie told me to focus on other things, like running hard between the telephone poles and focusing on my breathing. However, we rounded the bend and I heard her say something about when we get to the tennis courts we're in the home stretch. I kicked hard because I thought when I reached the tennis courts I'd be done, I was wrong. So I exerted all my remaining energy, and Julie let me know I still had half a mile left. She told me to count down from 20 and when I got to 0, count again and she would tell me how many more times I needed to say that. After about 5 times of counting backwards, she told me to sprint to the light pole. I sprinted, she lied and said the next one, I sprinted, she lied and said the next one and finally I was done.

Total Time: 26:42, Average HR: 186 
https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/993845240
I learned a lot about myself during this 5K. Yes, it was ugly but it was my first hard effort in nearly nine months. It was the first time that I felt like I could do a half marathon, even though I died after 3.1 miles. I tried to cool down and I couldn't, so I just walked home and walked the dog around the block. Good things that came from it was the confidence of my knee, defined run zones, hope that I can get back to running and motivation to continue trusting the process that Dan creates.