I had my long run today – 20 miles. I set some new goals for this run based on my discussions with @iwillnotbonk (tav) this week. He’s really helped me focus on different things in training. In particular, heart rate monitoring, particularly after my previous post. I normally just try to last on these runs going as fast as I can. Today, I changed that up. I ran to a heart rate.

What does that mean exactly? I planned a run that looked like this:

1. 1 mile warmup
2. Repeat the next two things three times
3. 5 mile in heart rate zone 1 (max 145)
4. 1 mile in heart rate zone 2 (max 156)
5. Cool down

You can see my splits below, but i was pretty successful until cooldown. The one thing I noticed was the build in heart rate for each split. Although I was in zone, you can see my pace getting slower with higher heart rates through the run. That is what I need to work on in these endurance runs. All in all, I was happy but I have a lot of work to do.

The one thing I did start doing today with my new ipod nano was to video tape some short clips documenting my runs in different locations. I took 5 30 second clips or so. See them below – I’ve uploaded to youtube. I apologize that some of them are at an angle. I’m still learning to work the new little camera.

Sidebar 1: I get frustrated when I plan my runs poorly. Today, I planned to run to Schooner or Later in Long Beach from Irvine to meet Adrienne for breakfast. Last weekend, I rode my bike past Schooner or Later and said, yeah, it’s about 20 miles. I’ve learned to never trust the “about” in a sentence like that. 20 miles ended up as 22.9. This is a big difference despite how small it seems!

Sidebar 2: I used the ultimate direction wasp today. This thing is incredible. Totally changes my hydration strategy on these runs. Basically, I don’t have to worry about it. Today was hot as hell, and no concerns! Sweet, huh? I suggest getting one for long runs. I forgot it was there after a while, and I loved the front pockets to store my electrolyte pills and ipod! I can even carry a phone with me now in case i do pass out on the side of the road and someone discovers me

Sidebar 3: Just started using Garmin Connect rather than Garmin training center. How awesome is this program?? Anyone have success with uploading an exported tcx file from garmin training center?

Here are my videos from the run (from mile 10, mile 13 or so, mile 20, and after the race):

Here are my splits:

Here’s a summary of my heart rate/pace/route on my run today via Garmin Connect. Note my 1 mile jumps to heart rate zone 2. Also note the general creep up through the run, particularly in the last 2 miles. I was quite happy overall though.