Monday miles

My running buddy. Seems appropriate.

Slowest pace of the week

14:22/mile

Fastest pace of the week

12:43/mile

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Miles last week

16.5

Miles in 2016

384.35

Change of Heart

Two weeks ago I wrote about tracking my heart rate with a Polar H7 and my Apple Watch. The combination was perfect…until I ran into a snafu. A big one!

I couldn't run with my BRF Amy if we both tracked our heart rate with a Polar H7 strap. Big. Problem.

For some reason, when we'd try to run together, even though both of our straps had been paired, once we "paired" up to start running, the watches would lose their connections. Ugh. We tried running on other sides, putting watches on opposite arms, nothing worked. Out came my Garmin Forerunner 110 and its heart rate strap.

Turns out I kind of missed my old friend Garmin. It still does a great job of tracking distance and pace, but best of all it keep its connection with the Garmin heart rate strap while I'm running with Amy. And that…is very important!

Week 2 Recap

New shoes. Ugly…but half price!

Two weeks and four day of heart rate training. So far, so good.

Notes for the week:

1. I'm starting to know when my heart rate is too high without glancing at my watch. This is good. It's still really, really challenging to run at such an "easy" pace. But…I'm still really enjoying it!

2. Keeping it "easy" means I can get out first thing in the morning – before breakfast or coffee. I've never been able to do that before. Feels good.

The numbers: Easy Effort 30 minutes last week were at a 12:31. This week, my second 30 minute run was a 11:35. Smokin'! :)

Monday miles

Girls on the Run with Ellie
(Favorite company of the week!)

Slowest pace of the week

14:02/mile

Fastest pace of the week

11:35/mile

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Miles last week

19.7

Miles in 2016

367.85

Audio books = mind candy

I've been a fan of the audio book since the days when I'd run with a fanny pack and 2-3 cassette tapes from the library. Back then the book would be recorded on enough tapes that the case they came in was the size of an encyclopedia. (Do people use encyclopedias anymore?) I eventually switched from my walkman to my discman, and fortunately for me, so did the library as their cassette tape collection was slowly replaced by compact discs.

Since the introduction of the iPod and MP3, I've been able to ditch the fanny pack and carry an entire book on one, small little device. Once my iPod Shuffle, now my iPhone. Audio books are also the perfect way to keep your mind busy during long runs. Audio books are my mind candy and Audible my candy store.

Last year, during marathon training, I actually listened to an entire book on a solo 18-miler. Music is great, and has a big place in my life, but a book keeps your mind from wandering around mile 12, reminding you that you still have six long miles to go.…

I've always saved books for my longer runs, but the past two weeks I've been listening to The Beekeeper's Apprentice on these shorter HRT runs. It's hard enough to keep my heart rate and pace down, I don't need to bring inspiring music into the mix. Enter the audio book. Keeps you entertained, no pep in your step. (Unless you're listening to Born to Run, then all bets are off.)

Week 1 Recap

Even my dad's cows are questioning my pace

My first full week of heart rate training is behind me and I'm three runs into week two.

Notes for the week:

1. Forget about the ego. (This is so hard!) I keep reminding myself that no one but me cares about my pace. Plus…even I'm not supposed to care about my pace right now. This is proving to be very difficult. Sunday afternoon I ran past my brother's house. My sister-in-law and nephew were outside. "Hi Aunt Lisa!" yelled my nephew. Instead of smiling and yelling "Hello!" back, I pulled my earbuds out and yelled "I'm running this slow on purpose!" They both just waved. (And maybe looked at me like I'd lost my mind.) Ok…why couldn't I simply smile and say hello back, why did I have to justify my walk breaks? Well, because telling the girl that's been running for 8 years to stop thinking about the old rules and trust the new ones is freaking challenging. I guarantee that the people (and cows) that I pass have no opinion on my pace. None.

2. On a happier note, running slow is giving me time to enjoy the scenery. I've been running the same roads for almost nine years. That means running past the same houses, greeting the same dogs, seeing the same neighbors out in their same yards. Slowing everything down has made things feel new again. I feel as though instead of focusing on how hard I'm breathing or how much farther I have to run, I'm honestly looking around at my surroundings and taking the time to really appreciate where I live. Sure, it helps that mother nature has been kind enough to finally let some sunshine poke through the clouds, but it's more than that. These miles have been mind-clearing.

The numbers: Comparing apples to apples…my Easy Effort 30 minutes last week were at a 13:07. This week they were at a 12:31. Baby steps, but a tiny bit faster! (Oh…wait…I'm not supposed to care about my pace. I need to put that on a sticky note somewhere to remind myself!)

Monday miles

Pace is slow, but enjoying the scenery!

Slowest pace of the week

16:35/mile

Fastest pace of the week

12:31/mile

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Miles last week

19.4

Miles in 2016

348.15

How I'm tracking my heart rate

I was gifted an Apple Watch for my 40-th birthday last year. I used it to train for last year's marathon and completely retired my Garmin Forerunner 110. The Apple Watch does a great job of calculating distance and pace – those being the only two numbers I've ever cared about in the past. The watch has an internal heart rate monitor that uses the pulse on my wrist, but I'd read that it wasn't 100% accurate. Plus, it doesn't give you a constant reading, only testing every few minutes or so. To give #HRT 100% effort, I needed to find a way to have my heart rate on the watch face at all times.

After a little help from Google, I discovered that I could change the settings on my Apple Watch to pull the heart rate data from a Bluetooth heart rate strap. It took a day or two for my mind to put it all together, but I remembered that my treadmill came with a Polar H7 strap. I'd never used it, never caring about that data in the past. Bingo! Perfect combination.

Turtle speed

Maybe the road commission could install a few of
these around the neighborhood for me?

My first two #HRT (heart rate training) runs are under my belt. (Or should I say shoes?)

A few things I've noticed:

1. Running with Amy (my neighbor and BRF) and trying to keep my HR at <140 is laughable. Oh…and don't laugh! That makes it worse. I'm not sure how our runs together are going to work out. I guarantee it's not possible for the two of us to run in silence. We have way too much to talk about.

2. So. Much. Walking! Even on my solo run yesterday, I'd be at what I thought was a nice, easy clip and look down to see a 150+ on my watch. Argh! Walk. Run. Walk some more.

3. These runs are easy. So easy, in fact, that once it's over and I've stretched my legs for a few minutes, I feel fantastic.

Now the numbers. 45 minutes at 14:45/M with Amy. Yes…that's almost FIFTEEN MINUTES PER MILE. A big difference from our typical 9:45/M runs in the past. Yesterday, when I wasn't talking the entire time, my average was 13:05/M. That's encouraging!

Let's get this started. Heart Rate Training.

I've listened to podcasts, read articles, pondered the science. Finally, I decided to go for it. What do I have to lose? Maybe time, since running at a maximum heart rate of 140 has proven to be slow for this runner. (13:30/mile on my long run last week.) What do I have to gain? Hopefully a renewed love of running, happier miles, a stronger heart and possibly a bit of speed. (Honestly, at 13:30/mile @ 140bpm…things can only get faster!)

Starting today, I will be using a 4 week Introduction to Heart Rate plan, followed by a 20 week Incredible Marathon Plan through my friends and fellow mothers at Train Like a Mother and Another Mother Runner.


Heart rate training has intrigued me for a long time, and I feel that now's the perfect time to give it a try. So, if you see me running really, really slow, I promise it's on purpose!