Five for Friday: The Run Test

Wednesday was Run Test day. Here are 5 things I learned while testing my current run fitness.

1. It's more fun to have a rabbit with you. I did this test alone on the same course I did last time with my rabbit Andrew.
2. I've been running too easy when I'm supposed to be going hard. My hard has been at a HR of 155 when it should be 166 or higher according to my test. I thought as I got older that those upper limit heart rates would come down but they haven't.
3. Shoe choice is important. In my run test in late November I wore the heavily cushioned Saucony Triumph 12 and in this most recent test I wore the bedroom slipper New Balance Zante. Crazy as it is my feet felt better in the Triumph running "fast".
4. Running Form - It's really important. I concentrated heavily on my form during this test. I would not do that in a race but for this I felt getting that slight forward lean and high cadence was important. It felt really good doing this.
5. I will not test at 8am again. My run finishes going north on the coast highway. The southbound traffic is heavy at this time of the day. It felt like I was running into a stiff wind. This is not an excuse for my slower time it's just the reality. I've rather have a quiet place to run in windy conditions. The coast highway is a great place to run but not at 8am on a weekday.
6. I'm adding a 6th because it's quite important. I get up every morning and measure my reading (I do this while I read) heart rate and heart rate variability on the Sweet Beat Ap. My HRV on this morning was 12 beats lower than the day before which is roughly my average throughout all my testing. What this told me was to take the day off I was not rested/recovered. What I did instead was execute the test. 

As for the test itself, I'm encouraged. I was 20 seconds slower and I attribute that to my rabbit and my HRV. I know with a rabbit or in the middle of a race with some rest I'll be much faster. I also need to invest in better tools. For years I was the guy everyone came too for direction and comments on technology. I was really tight with Timex, Polar, Garmin, Nike and adidas. I never had to pay for anything which was a perk. During this test I held my phone. The system is one of the best I've used but holding my phone in my hand is crazy and I don't want to run with it on my arm. I need to find that watch Polar, Timex or Garmin that will give me what I want. Time/Pace/HR all on the same screen. I know it's out there but instead of them coming to me I need to go find it. It's much harder to trust these things when you have to pay for them.

It's a good life...