Recovery 21 km (13 miles)

Today's training: 21 km (13.05 miles), 2:15:45 (10:24 min/mi), avg 142 bpm/max 152/1:30 above 150

• 2/21:56/136 -- 10:48 pace
• 3/10:42/143
• 4/10:34/141
• 5/10:35/142
• 6/10:29/141
• 7/8:05/141 -- course mismarked?
• 8/10:11/144
• 9/10:46/143
• 10/10:34/144
• 11/10:30/143
• 12/10:15/145
• 13.05/11:02/146 -- 10:30 pace

I started out very slowly deliberately. My lower legs also really ached (muscles in front to the outside of my shins). This happens once in a blue moon and seems to go away. I don't know quite what to make of the heart rate and pace.

After warming up, I was able to hold my pace at a low heart rate until a little short of two hours when it became harder maybe 3-5 beats higher. The same thing happened in my 18-mile run last week.

Recovery 7 miles

Today's training: 6.90 miles, nbhrd loop, 1:09:05 (10:01 min/mi), avg 137 bpm/max 153/1:10 over 150
Update: I messed up the mileage above. It's actually 6.83 miles, which screws up the math below and makes my pace 10:07 min/mi.

I planned to run 8 miles but my need for a bathroom cause me to cut it short. I also think it might have elevated my heart rate in the last mile :-)

My heart rate was exceptionally low for this pace. I average 128 bpm for the first mile! My heart rate splits were 128, 135, 133, 138, 139, 139, 143. Through 5 miles my average was 135 bpm. Comparing to the other 5-mile recovery runs on the same course: 48:26/142, 50:14/144, 49:11/142, 51:12/139, 51:19/141, 51:34/139, 49:17/140, 49:43/138, 49:26/141, 49:46/135.

I might have turned a corner with Sunday's 18-miler where I kept my heart rate low the whole time. The weather, like on Sunday, was unseasonably cool. It was in the low 50's then and the same this morning. Race day just made it into the 10 day forecast. The high/low predicted is 72/53. Last night's low was 41 so I expect it will probably be near 60 by race time, getting up the upper 60's by the end. Should be cooler than the last marathon, but still warmer than what I've been training in for the last 7 weeks.

The foot pod distance was well off as expected. It registered 6.52 miles. 6.90/6.52 = 1.058. On Thursday it read 6.63 verus 7.00 on the treadmill. 7.00/6.63 = 1.056, so there's good agreement there. The current calibration factor is 1.038. I'll change that to 1.058*1.038 = 1.098. I'll need to watch this since I recall getting a high cal factor with new shoes last time that changed quickly.

Recovery 7 miles

Today's training: 6.63 miles, 1:12:58 (11:00 min/mi), 136 bpm avg/148 max/0:00 above 150

I ran on a hotel treadmill. Things went a lot better than yesterday. I started out very slow and increase the pace a little each mile.

mile	treadmill pace (min/mi)	footpood pace (min/mi)	avg heart rate (bpm)
1	12:00	12:35	120
2	10:54	11:58	124
3	10:20	10:45	135
4-6	10:00	10:28	141
7	10:20	10:48	142

The graph above also shows the staircase and points out a couple of things I don't like about STraM. I can't really read off the graph my pace. What is the minor tick separation? If I put the cursor over a point it doesn't help much either because it only has a 1 min/mi resolution!

Note the difference between the foot pod and treadmill. The foot pod said I ran 6.63 miles while the treadmill said 7. This makes me feel better about yesterday. Adjusting by this factor would be 12.72 in 2:11:45 or 10:21 min/mi versus 11:05! 10:21 pace with a 144 bpm average is OK considering the heat. I'll run my regular route Friday and recalibrate the foot pod based on that.

Today's pace based on the treadmill distance (instead of the foot pod) is 10:25 min/mi at 136 bpm, which is actually very good for me. I ran with no incline and there's no wind resistance though.

Recovery 12 miles

Today's training: 12.05 miles, 2:11:45 (10:57 min/mi), 144 avg/153 max/2:00 above 150

Running is humbling. After a very good run on Sunday, today was ugly. The cross-country travel , lack of sleep, and congestion and sneezing (allergies?) probably didn't help. It was also 70+ degrees and I ran in the mid-day sun with no heat. As I often do when I travel, I didn't drink enough water either (despite my own advice).

I also think that my foot pod isn't correctly calibrated. I wore it with new shoes today (although the exact same model).

With the excuses out of the way, I can say, unequivocally, I was slow. (I got sunburned to boot.)

Update: It appears my foot pod calibration was bad. I calibrated the new shoe/pod combination and correcting with that calibration factor this mileage pace was 12.63 miles and 10:26 min/mi, which isn't nearly as bad.

hydration, I say! -- recovery 18 miles

Today's training: 17.8 miles, 3:08:00 (10:34 min/mi), heart rate avg 142/max 154/4:20 over 150

To save a little time, I decided to run to the lake, do a lap around, and run back. The foot pod registered this as 17.8 miles. It's a little harder on my legs since I'm running more on pavement, but it's nice not to have to drive somewhere to run.

I decided that dehydration probably was contributing to my heart rate drift during long runs, so I made an effort to drink a lot during this run. I went through about 70 oz of water (and two bathroom breaks). It seems to have worked pretty well. I didn't have trouble keeping under the 150 bpm alarm until after about 2.5 hours and I managed to run for almost 18 miles at a 142 average and 10:34 pace. I came to a crawl about a month ago trying to run 13 miles under 150, so this looks like progress.

gregw.wikispaces.com -- my brain's dumping ground

Originally, I said I had a lot of interests other than running, but up until now I haven't talked about anything else!

One of the things I like about a blog, or at least the idea of a blog, is that it gives me a place to get things off my mind. In the Getting Things Done view, it gives me a next action for an idea -- blog idea X.

One problem is that sometimes (OK, most times), I only have the fragment of an idea. The idea isn't really well-formed enough to write an "article" on it. For a little while, I tried saving draft articles, but found it became too disheartening to see the pile of unfinished stuff before me. I love wiki, so I decided wiki must be the answer and I set up http://gregw.wikispaces.com.

When I think of something I'd like to learn about or have an idea, I'll put it there. If it grows to be article-worthy, I'll point it out here.

The first project idea I had was to replace the Suunto Training Manager (STraM). There are many things to dislike about it. First, it is windows-only and effectively moved me off linux after having used it as my desktop for 11 years. It is also just terrible in many ways. For one thing, all these graphs I post are screenshots because there's no way to save a graph. My graphs also have odd scales, because as far as I can tell, there's no way to change the scale min and max. Anyway, there's now a http://gregw.wikispaces.com/STraM+replacement page.

Part of the point of this project is to use python to do math and visualize data which I find fun (yes, my wife thinks I'm nuts, too.) As a start, I need to pick which python packages I'll use. In the plotting area, the two contenders right now are matplotlib and chaco. I *believe* the former makes prettier plots and support a wider variety of plots while the latter might have more built-in interactivity (let the user select data, etc.). One thing they both share is spotty documentation. Anyway, I'll be checking out those packages.

Recovery 5 miles

Today's training: 4.90 miles, nbhrd, 49:26 (10:05 min/mi), heart rate 141 avg/153 max/1:10 over 150

Hamstring didn't bother me at all until after mile 4 and then only a little bit. Heart rate pace is typical. I don't seem to be making much progress.

Recovery 6 miles

Today's training: 5.86 miles, 1:00:50 (10:23 min/mi), heart rate 141 avg/152 max/1:30 over 150

My hamstring still bothered me some, but it didn't feel like I was making it worse. I felt quite tired today and at time it felt like an effort to get my heart rate into the 140s. Maybe all this slow running is just making me soft!

The foot pod actually made it through today and reported 6.05 miles, which is off more than normal. From now on, I'm just going to put the known distance in the "today's training" line since it's more accurate and the foot pod rarely works these days.

I did something a little different today. Normally I walk for about 10 minues before starting. In the last 5 minutes or so of that I worked to a slow jog and then hit the "starting line" at a heart rate of 135.

My heart rate splits were 136, 139, 141, 141, 141, 141. I don't see how that averages to the 141 STraM says. I've noticed that the watch always gives me an average hr of 1 bpm lower than STraM. Through 5 miles my time was at 50:45 and average heart rate (by my average of the splits) was 140. Adding to the list of 5-mile recovery runs: 48:26/142, 50:14/144, 49:11/142, 51:12/139, 51:19/141, 51:34/139, 49:17/140, 49:43/138, 50:45/140. This works a little worse than normal.

Improvement only from weight loss? -- Rest

Today's training: Rest

My hamstring was a little strained yesterday and I walked around work with a noticeable limp (someone noticed), so rest seemed in order for today.

Improvement only from weight loss?

My 10 mile time in April 2005 at my first race was 1:24:49. I believe I weighed about 180 then (I know I weighed 187 on 1 January 2005.) At 168, I ran 1:19:25 in April 2006. According to Bob Glover's Competitive Runner's Handbook, "In general, for every 1 percent rediction in total body weight, there is a 1 percent increase in running speed capacity." 1:24:49 * 168/180 = 1:19:10. So after a year of work, where I've more than doubled my weekly mileage, my weight loss more than accounts for my running speed? This is very depressing.

ran into work -- Recovery 10 miles

Today's training: 10.45 miles, home to work, 1:48:54 (10:25 min/mi), avg 142/max 164/4:20 over 150

I changed the battery and gave the foot pod one last chance. It died yet again. I need to figure out who to send it to for warranty repair. The mileage above is based on the last time it worked and I believe is quite close -- +/- .1 at the most.

• 1:50:24 avg 144/159 max/10:30 above 150
• 1:49:53, avg 144/160 max/10:40 above 150
• 1:49:05, avg 141/156 max/4:10 above 150
• 1:50:46, avg 143/166 max/7:20 above 150
• 1:48:54, avg 142/164 max/4:20 above 150
  

Again, the high max was rushing to beat a light. When I finished, I thought it was probably my best pace/heart rate, but it's not any better (maybe worse) than number 3.

I managed to strain my hamstring a little during this. One of the downsides of running into work is that if you tweak something 6 miles in, you can't cut it short.

Recovery 6 miles

Today's training: 5.79 miles, nbhrd loop, 59:39 (10:17 min/mi), 139 avg/max 152

The foot pod actually worked today. The mileage is a little lower than the 5.86 I believe is correct, but only about 1% off. I forgot to reset the hr limit on the watch to 150 until into the run, so I don't have a time over 150. I wish STraM let you do this after the fact.

The heart rate/pace looks pretty good. I'm getting used to running at lower heart rates. Sometimes I'll think the effort is getting a little harder and I look at my watch to find 139 bpm. Here's a comparison of the first 5 miles with previous 5-mile runs: 48:26/142, 50:14/144, 49:11/142, 51:12/139, 51:19/141, 51:34/139, 49:17/140, 49:43/138, 49:46/135 (today).

Schedule update -- Rest

I realized awhile ago that I goofed when I plotted out my schedule before. I had week 6 as the peak instead of week 5 because I didn't think that the end of week 6 was only 2 weeks before the marathon. As a result, I peaked with last week's 61 miles and 23-mile long run. My Pfitz 55 mpw program had the the last 3 weeks as 33 miles + 8-10K race, 39 miles, and 22 + marathon.

This week I'll run 6 on Tuesday, 10 on Wednesday, and 18 on Sunday. That's 36, so I guess I'll add in a couple of 5-6 mile days on Thursday and Friday to make it 46-48. I could make one a rest day, but given they're all easy miles, I'm not sure it would help me. The next week I'll do about 40 with two rest days and the last week will be about 20 + the marathon.

foot pod still broken - long run 23 miles

Today's training: 23 miles, 5 lake loops, 4:07:02 (10:44 min/mi), avg 150 bpm/max 167

As the title says, the foot pod stopped working again. Argh.

I debated whether to do 20 today or 5 loops around the lake (23 miles). I did a couple of slow laps and then decided I was morally commited to do 23. Otherwise, I'd have just done 20 slowly and that just seemed a step back from last times training.

As it turns out I did a very slow 23 miles. I set the alarm for 150 for the first two laps. I inched it up to 152 for the third but shortly into the lap, I made it 155 and went to 160 for the fourth lap and 165 for the last. Here are the time (pace)/heart rate for each lap: 47:27 (10:19 min/mi)/141 bpm, 47:41 (10:22)/142, 48:44 (10:37)/147, 50:46 (11:02)/156, 52:23 (11:23)/160. As you can see, despite letting my heart rate climb by 19 bpm, I came to a crawl. On my 20-miler 3 weeks out from the last marathon, my fourth lap was 45:39 (9:55)/158 versus 50:46 (11:02)/156. I definitely seem to be in worse shape.

All in all, this is not a good sign for the marathon. I see no hope of making 4 hours. Today was perfect with temps in the mid-50's -- not likely in May. This course is also considerably easier. I'm thinking about bagging the marathon and just running the half. I believe I'll do a repeat of the staircase interval test next weekend and see where I am. (I won't go quite to the max pace though and I might use heart rate as a pacing guide. Something at 180 bpm should be enough.)

I did notice that my weight was 164 (about 3-4 pounds below normal) later that afternoon after drinking and eating a fair bit. I probably lost 5 pounds while running despite drinking much more than normal. Dehydration could be a significant contributor to the elevated heart rate.

One positive from today is that my legs feel remarkably good for having just run for four hours.

I ran 61 miles this week, which I believe is the most I've ever done.

foot pod fixed? - recovery 5 miles

Today's training: 4.91 miles, nbrhd loop, 49:43 (10:08 min/mi), avg 140 bpm/max 152/2:40 above 150

The foot pod wouldn't even start today. I was about to give up on the thing, but wanted to see if the battery had actually been drained. When I took off the cap, I noticed the spring was tilted to the side. I pushed it in so it sat up straight and put the cap back on. Then I was able to turn the foot pod back on. Problems with the spring have been noted on the WristopTrainers yahoo group, so hopefully this is all there is to it. Notice that the 4.91 miles is right on the 4.90 I've measured with google earth, so it was a good day all around for Mr. FootPod.

Today's results were close to yesterday's. Here's the 5-mile running tally: 48:26/142, 50:14/144, 49:11/142, 51:12/139, 51:19/141, 51:34/139, 49:17/140, 49:43/140

Tomorrow I need to run 20 miles. I'm going to go back to the lake loop to give my legs a break from the pavement. I'm also considering doing 5 laps, which is 23 miles. I've had that feeling if I could just do 5 good laps, I'd be OK for the marathon. I haven't really commited to this. I've jumped up the long runs pretty quickly with the short time since the last marathon and the 10-mile race in the middle, so 23 miles might not be wise. It would also mean close to 4 hours of running.

Recovery 6 miles

Today's training: 5.86 miles, nbhrd loop, 59:04 (10:05 min/mi), 140 bpm avg/152 max/1:10 above 150.


The foot pod stopped working again. The distance is 2x the normal 3-mile loop though (2x 2.93 miles). I decided to tack on a mile for variety.

My pace/heart rate was good compared to other recovery runs. I was at 49:17 through 5 miles and my average heart rate to that point should still be about 140 (heart rate in the last mile was 142). So here's the recent 5-mile recovery runs (plus the first five of this one): 48:26/142, 50:14/144, 49:11/142, 51:12/139, 51:19/141, 51:34/139, 49:17/140. This looks like one of the better results (if not the best). I wonder if Tuesday's semi-tempo run helped?

ran into work -- recovery 10 miles

today's training: 10.45 miles, home to work, 1:50:46 (10:36 min/mi), 143 bpm avg/166 max/7:20 above 150

The footpod died again after a couple of miles. The distance above is based on the last run.

My heart rate/pace wasn't as good as last time, but who knows why. It was about 20 degrees warmer I think, I got home from traveling at 9:30 last night and slept about 6 hours before getting up at 5:10am, and I had a long stop at a light (almost 3 minutes) early on. My high max is from running to make a light later.

• 1:50:24 avg 144/159 max/10:30 above 150
• 1:49:53, avg 144/160 max/10:40 above 150
• 1:49:05, avg 141/156 max/4:10 above 150
• 1:50:46, avg 143/166 max/7:20 above 150.

It looks like the 2-3 x run to work on my schedule is going to be 2. Close enough. Need to get my base up so I can run in everyday :-)

Rest

Resting. Please stand by.

medium long run 12 miles

Today's training: 11.8 miles, sidewalks near hotel, 1:58:42 (10:05 min/mi), avg 149 bpm/max 170

After a day of meetings, it was good to go for a run. Found about a two-mile stretch of sidewalk and did 3 out and backs. The weather was windy but warm (68 degrees). Luckily the foot pod held out.

I ran the first out and backs and less than 150 bpm and found it tough to keep it low and keep a decent pace. I decided to invoke Greg's first law of running: don't attribute to fitness that which can be blamed on hills.

All this slow stuff was getting boring and I talked myself into a tempo run up the hill. I welcomed the stop light and pulled back from the pace (around 8:10 min/mi) after a few minutes. I kept up a decent speed for the two miles out and then trotted home. I couldn't seem to slow enough to get my heart rate back down on the way back so I stopped trying. Pace heart rates for the segments were

• out and back, 143 bpm/10:28 min/mi
• out and back, 144/10:23
• out 161/8:44, back 159/9:51

I'm not sure of the exact distance since the footpod called the first two out and back 3.91 and 3.93, but the third was 3.99 miles. The pace of the first two is probably closest to how I calibrated it.

Recovery 5 miles

Today's training: 4.90 miles, nbrhd loop, 51:34 (10:31 min/mi), avg 139 bpm/max 154

The footpod would only turn on for a few seconds. I'll change the battery and next time it acts up, I'll work on getting it fixed/replaced.

Took it very slow and easy to make sure I recovered from yesterday. Pace was slow, but heart rate was low also. Recent 5-miles recovery runs pace/heart rate: 48:26/142, 50:14/144, 49:11/142, 51:12/139, 51:19/141, 51:34/139

long run 18 miles

today's training: 18.02 miles, marathon course, 3:06:16 (10:20 min/mi), 151 bpm average/168 max

Ran the marathon course. Out and back (2x10.5 km) plus an out and back to the 4 km mark for 29 km or 18.02 miles total. STraM give 28.55 km or 17.74 miles (1.6% error).

Still very slow for the heart rate, but not as bad as 2 weeks ago. I averaged 146 bpm for the first 21km, which is the same as 2 weeks ago, but I finished the 21km a little over 8 minutes quicker.

I let myself drift higher today because I knew there was no way I could keep under 150 for 3+ hours. The rough gameplan was <150 for 10.5 km, <155 for next 10.5 km, <160 for next 4km and <166 for last 4km. I cheated a little and went to 160 and 166 about 1km early. Here are the semi-ugly results

• 10:18/142, 0-10.5 km
• 10:15/151, 10.5-21 km
• 10:34/158, 21-25 km
• 10:28/163, 25-29 km

All in all this doesn't compare too favorably to my long runs before the last marathon. My last 20-mile run was at 9:45 min/mi and 154 bpm average heart rate. This was 10:20/151. The course are similar in terms of ascent/descent per mile although the marathon course is unshaded and it's probably 20 degress warmer. Also, although it doesn't seem like much 3 bpm can account for a fair difference in pace (especially at lower paces), so it's hard to compare the two directly.

During the run today, I seriously considered just running the half marathon. If I had run a perfect pace at the marathon 4 weeks ago, there's a slim chance I could have made 4 hours. This time 4 hours seems impossible on a much tougher course in heat that is likely to be even worse. If I do the marathon, I should just aim lower and try to beat my last time (by going out slow and now walking at the end).

I can't quite let go of 4 hours though and would like to go out slower but give myself a chance at getting 4 hours by running negative splits if I feel good. The problem is I'm not sure I can even run 9:30 min/mi the whole way. If I ran the first half at 9:30, then I'd have to run the second at 8:48. Plus I'd have to decide to go to 8:48 with 13.1 miles left and risk crashing again. I could try 9:15 min/mi for the first 20 miles and then I'd have to run about 8:50 min/mi for the last 10K. The problem is that 9:15 min/mi on this course might be as hard as the 9:01 min/mi on the last course and we know how that last 10K turned out. Ugh.

I'm debating whether just to go back to my old lake loop for my long runs since it's shaded, has a softer surface (crushed gravel and dirt versus pavement) and has gentler hills. If I do go back to the marathon course, I'm not sure how to do the 20 miler. There was a 4 km marker but I don't think I saw anything else before 7.5 km. 2x10.5 + 2x7.5 = 36 km or 22.4 miles. I could also just use the mile markers and the .63 miles the footpod tells me it's to the first mile marker. 13+3.6x2 is about 20. Running over 20 sounds appealing because it's something I haven't done before in training and maybe it would help. Running 22 on the pavement might require too much recovery though. An alternative is 5 laps around the lake, which is 23 miles. Even at 10 min/mi though this is 3 hours and 50 minutes -- a long time running.

Recovery 5 miles

Today's training: 4.91 miles, 51:19 (10:26 min/mi), 141 bpm avg/154 max/2:40 above 150

It was 56 degrees, rainy, and very windy. The footpod worked again today and the distance was right on (google earth says 4.90 for this route).

My heart rate was a little on the high end for the pace. Here are my recent 5-mile neighborhood runs (including this one): 48:26/142, 50:14/144, 49:11/142, 51:12/139, 51:19/141.

ran into work -- Recovery 10 miles

today's training: 10.45 miles, home to work, 1:49:05, (10:26 min/mi), 141 bpm/max 156/4:10 above 150

Man I love running into work. 1:40:00 on a treadmill was pure torture. This just flew past.

Today also felt like something of a breakthrough. I finished a little faster than previous runs, my average heart rate was lower, and my monitor didn't beep at me much (I made it over some hills that I used to have to walk). I also hit a light for about 2:30 that I didn't hit the other runs. Here are the last three runs to work

• 1:50:24 avg 144/159 max/10:30 above 150
• 1:49:53, avg 144/160 max/10:40 above 150
• 1:49:05, avg 141/156 max/4:10 above 150

It's only 3 bpm, but it felt pretty significant and 6 less minutes of beeping is noticeable. I wonder if it was my 10 miles at 10-mile race pace on Sunday? I'm ambivalent about adding in some tempo runs. I'm also very uncertain about what pace to run my long run on Sunday at. 17 miles also gets my attention a little more than it has since I haven't run more than 13 since the marathon almost 4 weeks ago and that 13 didn't go too well.

The foot pod stayed on the whole time just to mess with me.

Rest

today's training: rest

Traveling today and I've learned my lesson not to try and run after I get home. I also seem to pull something after sitting in an airplane or a car all day.

recovery 5 miles

today's training: 4.65 miles, hotel treadmill, 50:00 (10:45 min/mi), avg 143 bpm

Foot pod made it through the 5-minute warm-up and died shortly after I started running. It did offer a hint at my bad pace/heart rate. When the treadmill read 6.0 mph (or 10:00 min/mi) it said 9:30 min/mi. It certainly felt more like the latter and I don't think the foot pod is that off.

recovery 9 miles

today's training: 9.22 miles, hotel treadmill, 1:40:00 (10:51 min/mi), avg 142 bpm

I hate treadmills. Warm, stagnant air. Kept slowing pace to keep my heart rate low. Still, I didn't feel that bad and it wasn't that hot, so I can't explain the pace/hr.

The foot pod died again during the warm up. Didn't bother to turn it on again.

recovery 4 miles

Today's training: 3.9 miles, nbrhd loop, 45:49 (11:42 min/mi), avg 136 bpm/max 145

Started out and couldn't turn on the foot pod.

Recovering from yesterday's 10 mile race. Set the alarm to 140 and "ran" very, very slowly. Everything felt good. I did feel a little swelling in my knee at the end (I had some after the race also, but no pain during).

Race 10 miles

Today's training: 10 miles, race, 1:19:23 (7:56 min/mi), avg 182 bpm/max 196

I ran the 10-miler and it went well after a rocky start. I went out too slow mainly because I paid too much attention to my heart rate monitor (weaving through the crowds didn't help either). The foot pod died again (at mile 4 something) and I was 50 seconds behind my goal at mile 5 (40:50), but then I decided to ignore my heart rate monitor and make my 1:20 goal.

• Splits were 16:15 (167 bpm), 8:26 (177), 16:07 (181), 7:53 (185), 7:52 (187), 7:36 (188), 7:35 (189), 7:33 (191)
• Ran 40:50 (175) first half and 38:35 (188) second
• second half was faster than the 5 mile turkey trot I ran in november (38:39) and last three splits were faster than my 10K pace (7:36 min/mi).

I felt great afterwards and I'm debating whether or not to run tomorrow morning.

calibration and one pace lap 5 miles

Today's training: 5.13 miles, to high-school track, around and back, 52:43 (10:28 min/mi), avg 144/max 171

It was warm this morning. About 62 degrees and 80+% humidty (just stopped sprinkling when I went out). It was nice to just throw on a t-shirt and shorts and head out the door.

I ran up to the high school track to calibrate the foot pod. Three laps around gave 1211 meters, confirming that the foot pod was a little generous. I adjusted the calibration, which is now at 1.038.

The 1200m calibration run took 7:03, which is 9:28 pace. My average heart rate was 149, but it drifted from 145 at the start to 155. The graph of my pace looks pretty constant though.

After the three calibration laps, I did one lap to see what 8 min/mi felt like, which is my goal for tomorrow's ten mile race. I did the lap in 1:55.4, which is 7:44 min/mi pace. My heart rate maxed at 171 just a little after I finished the lap.