160

I guess that's my anaerobic threshold (AT)...

Out doing my tempo run today.. it was supposed to be 7 mi with 5 @ ~7:45

Summer has arrived in North Florida. Right at 90F today.

The heat... and the fact that I hadn't run a tempo run like this in a few weeks did not buoy my confidence.

After a nice warm-up mile I cranked up the pace and knocked out 2 in a row right on pace. The third mile was right on pace as well but I could feel that I was laboring a bit.

I was also really thirsty... not a good sign...

On Mile 4 I started to get stomach cramps... a couple of minutes later my heart was really pounding and I was not feeling so well. I slowed to a walk for about 30 seconds or so and when my heart rate came down I felt much better. I decided to just skip the last mile and head home.

When I started running again I felt okay and by the end of mile 5 I was close to being back on pace. So I changed my mind again and finished my workout although the last two miles were 30 seconds or so off pace.

Looking back over my training data from today... and my logs... I see the number 160 and it being a heart rate above which I cannot run for more than a couple of minutes. That's where I was at 4.5 miles today... and once I backed off... things were better.


Tip: I don't recommend letting your barber put hair gel on your head an hour or so befor you run in the heat. When I slowed for my cool down mile the gel ran into my eyes... ouch!