Running by numbers

The last couple of weeks, I did a couple of tests.
The first week was to try to set a bar. I actually had no idea how fast I could run.
The two tests useful to establish some metrics are 1 mile/race and 20 min/run.
My 20 min run should be close of a 5k, then I decided to go for a 1 mile and the 5k race.

War Memorial Stadium

I cannot tell if this is common, but we have access to a free and open real race track on Maui.

I decided for it to be the where I would establish those PR. It is actually quite fun to race on the track, there is a feeling of competitive spirit that exhale from the place.

From a statistic perspective, it looks like that.

I ran the 1 mile in 6:00, which is pretty fast, I think, with an average of 165 bpm and 200 spm.

The 5k followed, with a 7:00 pace, 22 minutes total and an average of 165 bpm as well.

With this you can poke into the McMillan calculator:

3:22 Marathon, 7:45 Pace. WTF ?

3:34 Marathon, 8:11 pace. Seems almost reasonable.

Well, one thing is certain, I should be running waaaaay faster.

The interesting bit is using my 165bpm average on 20 minutes, I can decipher my Heart Rate Zones.

Using Eric's tables, I got:

Zone2 Max : 142

Zone4 Max: 152

Zone7 Min: 161-165 : Vo2 Max.

Those specific zones are interesting, and eventually, you need to know them by heart and feel.

Zone2 is your easy/long run zone.

Zone4 is your marathon pace training zone or tempo runs.

You don't want to go over Zone7, this is when you start building lactic acid and jeopardizing your chances of closing the race. Over this, you start to take a chance of finishing.

My second marathon, I had an average of 175 between 1:40 and 3:20 of running. 

No wonder I crashed.

In a nutshell, I know I should be able to break the 4:00 barrier easily, even in the heat of Hawaii, 9:00 pace should be an achievable goal, I just need to watch my heart to be lower than 165 for the 3/4 of the race.

Well. 

In theory.

From the numbers.