Day 14: Patience is Key 🔑
Two weeks of morning runs complete, which means we're officially halfway through the challenge! Today, I did a higher-intensity tempo run—the first one in quite some time. I wanted to see how my pace might feel if I'm aiming for a sub-1:30 half marathon in 2025. Let’s just say, I'm glad the race isn’t next month! It was tough, but a good reality check on what to expect in training for that target pace of 4:16 per kilometer. There’s work to be done, but it felt great to get a glimpse of where I stand.
Consistency in showing up each morning has been smooth so far, even with these shorter runs. But pushing for high intensity and speed is an extra challenge for me. Here are the stats for today:
- Total Distance: 7.28 km
- Average Heart Rate: 145 BPM
- Average Pace: 5:30 min/km
- Total Time: 40:05
- Sleep Score: 91 (7 hrs, 38 mins)
- VO2 Max: 52
- Endurance Score: 6149
Tempo Run Breakdown:
The run today included a 10-minute warm-up, three 5-minute tempo blocks at my target pace of 4:16/km, with 3-minute active recovery intervals between blocks, and finished with a 9-minute cooldown.
- First Block: 4:47 min/km
- Second Block: 4:31 min/km
- Third Block: 4:17 min/km
It took a couple of attempts before I locked into the right zone. It probably didn’t look as fast from the outside, but I felt it—and the form was definitely a bit wobbly. But overall, I’m glad I pushed through it.
Heart Rate Zones
Max Heart Rate Calculation
- Method 1: Max heart rate running test on a treadmill (ideal but intense).
- Method 2: 220 minus your age (simple but not always precise).
- Method 3: Your fitness/running watch can give you an estimate.
Benefits of Heart Rate Zones in Training
Using heart rate zones allows you to tailor workout intensity, helping with targeted goals like fat burning, endurance, or peak performance while avoiding overtraining.
Percentage of Maximum Heart Rate (MHR) Method
This simple method calculates training zones as percentages of your Maximum Heart Rate (MHR), making it easy to gauge intensity levels.
- How to Calculate: Subtract your age from 220 to estimate MHR, then use percentages of this value (e.g., 60-70%).
Karvonen (Heart Rate Reserve) Method
More personalized, this method uses both Maximum Heart Rate (MHR) and Resting Heart Rate (RHR) to set zones based on individual heart rate reserve.
- How to Calculate: Training Zone=[(MHR−RHR)×desired percentage]+RHR
Another week of running comin up!
