Chris Rogers Training Log

PM... [XT] Did a one hour hike with the dog on the trail up by the Bountiful Temple.  Was a good evening for a hike as it was cloudy and the heat wasn't too bad--also a good break from running after yesterday's downhill 10-miler.  The only problem was I chose a trail which was several downhill for about 3/4 of a mile on the way back to the car--quads weren't too happy with me.  Back at it tomorrow...

PM... [E] 8.4 mile run (54:33, 6:29 pace).  Did the 800W Btfl/1500S/Orchard Drive Loop (I'm starting to track all my routes on allsportgps.com).  The goal for the run was to not worry about pace at all--just go as I felt and not look at my watch at all.  It's amazing how quickly the pace can drop when you're not worry about it.  I actually felt pretty good, and the heat wasn't terrible since it was mostly cloudy outside.  Good stretch after.

L... [E] 8.3 mile run (53:54, 6:29 pace).  Huntsman/2nd Ave/City Creek/11th Ave Loop.  Was warm and windy, with the wind picking up as the run continued.  Started out feeling OK early in the run, but after the downhill section my back starting bothering me a lot--I actually had to back off some when I got up to 11th Avenue because it was becoming more painful.  Not sure what that was about, but tried some heat during the evening which seemed to help some.  Probably will take tomorrow off since it still hurt walking around during the evening.

Off...  My back is feeling a little better today, but still sore.  I'm thinking I'll try to get back at it tomorrow, but try to stay on flat routes for the remainder of the week.

PM... [E] 8.25 mile run (53:14, 6:27 pace).  200W/Centerville/Orchard/Viewmont Loop.  Started out very easy and slow--close to 7:00 pace, and continued to build throughout the run.  Felt sluggish and off during the beginning of the run, but felt better as the run continued.  Didn't really want the pace to be 6:27, but tried to just go off of feel and not worry too much about overall pace.  Stretch w/rope after.

PM... [E] (48:45, 6:43 pace).  I'm taking the advice of Sasha and Paul and making an effort to get my "easy" days under control.  From now on, I'm becoming a physiology geek and strapping on the HR monitor to make sure I don't go much above 75% of max HR on easy days.  Theoretically my max HR should be 191, but I'm figuring I'm probably closer to the 193-195 range.  Therefore, trying to keep the avg. HR for the run at or under 150.  Today was the first HR monitor day and avg. 148 for the run, and I could definitely tell the difference from what I've been doing on my former so called "easy" days.  I sure hope this helps!  Rope stretch after.

AM... [E] 9.75 mile run (68:08, 6:59 pace).  Woods Cross/Mill Park/800W loop plus another .25.  HR monitor worked its magic again and kept the pace easy--HR avg 147 for the entire run.  Amazingly enough I've actually felt good on my runs the past two days (imagine that).  It actually felt like I was holding back today and was working my rear off to keep the HR monitor under 150.  Some of the run back toward Bountiful is uphill, which was part of why my HR started creeping up.  For those of you who regularly use a HR monitor--how do you factor hills into your HR avg on easy days?  For instance, if I do an easy run with lots of hills, your HR will obviously be higher.  So... do you just back off the pace to keep your HR low even though it becomes incredibly easy--or do you keep the pace roughly the same and let your HR go higher and just realize that the increased effort is because of the hills on that portion of the run?  I'm still figuring out how best to utilize the HR monitor on easy days, so any insight is appreciated!