Because of the cold and the rain today, I decided to pay the local Bally a visit. I haven’t been there in months as I only go to use the treadmills when I don’t feel like going outside – which is only when there is a lightening storm, gale force winds, sub-arctic temperatures or when I just don’t feel like going outside. Today was one of those days.
I was also hoping to get an idea of how fast my lactate threshold pace feels. I guesstimated it to be around 6:37 based on my most recent 5K race pace of 6:07. I planned to do 2 miles easy warm-up, 4 miles at my lactate threshold pace, and then 2 miles easy cool down for a total of 8 miles. I was a bit apprehensive about being able to hold the pace since I usually run at a much slower pace on most runs.
I had nothing to fear, though. I easily hit the 6:37 pace and even finished the fast section with a quarter mile at 5:55 pace, which is faster than 5k race pace for me. At no point did I feel like I was breathing heavily or straining to maintain the pace. I only noticed some heaviness in my legs and some breathlessness towards the end. I think I could have held the pace for 8-9 miles if I had to.
Also, based on today’s test run, I think that I have been hitting lactate pace towards the end of some of my “brisker” aerobic runs. Either that or my lactate pace is faster than 6:37. If that is the case, I should be able to run a 5K faster than 19 minutes. Perhaps my biggest limit right now for shorter distances is my lack of leg speed. If I do need more leg speed, those 100 meter strides I have been running may be helping.
One bad thing about my run today was that I managed to bruise my right knuckle by banging it against the low hand bar that surrounds the treadmill. Those dang things were not designed for runners who like to keep their hands close to the hips when they run.
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