Finding the pace ...

Last Thursday I went on a great midnight run in the moonlight. It was still very hot but at least there was no sun. It was only 6.6K and very slow, but lovely. Then, on Saturday, I had my long run. I took the metro up to Frognerseteren (in the woods north of Oslo) and set up to run to Sognsvann (also north of Oslo). The best thing about living in Oslo is the great public transport system that takes you right into the middle of nowhere so it is very easy to enjoy the nature here, and there is plenty of nature here! 

I have walked this route several times, and knew that it was about 10-12K, so I figured it would be a great way to do some nature watching while getting my miles in. It started fine but soon I realised that this was going to be tricky. Lots of hills going up! Which is a little strange as I’m sure that Frognerseteren is further up from sea level than Sognsvann. But, I soldiered on. The first 5Ks were very difficult but finally around the 6K mark it got easier and I found a good pace and was just cruising along. Then disaster strikes! I somehow misread the signs and before I knew it I was on a gruelling trail run. I actually loved being in the woods on the trail, but I was not prepared for it. Maybe if I hadn’t already run around 6K and had on trail running shoes, it would have been fine, but that was not the case. After about 3K trail running/crawling I finally found the right path and got back to normal running. I managed to clock in 12K in record braking 1 hour 44 minutes! I’m very proud of myself for not quitting and managing to run most of the way, even if it was very slow and, in hindsight, maybe not very smart. I went home and stretched and stretched and then spend the rest of the day at the beach. The next day I was basically comatosed! My hip flexors and ankles were destroyed, I could barely walk, and I think I may have slept for 15 hours in total. I couldn’t even stay awake for the World Cup final in Brazil. Crazy! And even crazier is that I can’t wait to be in better shape so I can start giving this trail running another go ;)

I took 3 whole days off from running, to get my hip flexors time to heal and just to rest. And went for a great 7.4K run earlier today.  I just love running along Oslo’s marinas. So beautiful. And the paths are perfect so there is no need to worry about traffic. 

As usual, I’m still battling my sugar addiction and cravings and working on a balanced healthy diet. I got myself two new books. Finding Ultra by Rich Roll and Eat and Run by Scott Jurek. Both are vegan ultra athletes. It is very inspiring to read their stories and see what they are eating and how they are training. Now, I’m not even contemplating becoming an ultra endurance athlete, but I can take things from their books and use in my half marathon training as well. You don’t have to be an ultra endurance athlete to want to optimize your training. Interesting stuff. Now I just have to take what I’m reading and apply it to my real life. Now, that is a challenge!

In all my reading and youtube watching these last weeks, I’ve learned (again!) that I’m running too fast on my easy days and not fast enough on my hard days. This is the classic beginners mistake in running. The black hole. I even remember blogging about this last year. I’ve been trying to use the “conversation” test to make sure that I’m not running too fast, but it is not easy when you are running alone. And, it is not as reliable as a pulse clock. I just have to make some sacrifices, dig deep in my pockets and buy a pulse clock. It is so important to run in an aerobic state where the body is burning fat to get energy, and not in an anaerobic state where it is burning glycogen (or something like that). I really want my body to be burning fat! And it is also important as you start to run longer and longer distances as the body has enough fat to keep you going for a long time (even if you are a lean running machine) but only enough glycogen to fuel you for maybe 1,5-2 hours. Running in about 65-75% of your max heart rate is optimal in the easy and long runs. Tempo runs, where you are working at your race speed should be around 87-92% (race speed should be around 85-88% of your max heart rate) and intervals/speed training is 95-100% (these number I got from Runner’s World). Calculating your max heart rate can be tricky, but a relatively easy formula I got from Grete Waitz (she got it from Frank Horwill) is 209 – your age x 0,7 = your maximum heart rate. Which for me is 182. This formula is for females. For males it is 214 – your age x 0,8.  This all sounds very scientific but if Grete Waitz (9 times winner of the New York Marathon and a gold and silver winning Olympian) says it is a good formula, then it must be a good formula! Now, I just have to get that pulse clock. Will do some research and figure out which is the best and which doesn't brake the bank ;)