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May 01, 2005
2:00:55/142
I started this morning's 24.5 km (15.2 mi) run at about 7:15 am when it was still chilly, and ran steadily at long-run pace, aiming for 8-minute miles. My pulse was fairly low, at 73% of max. heart rate on average. That speed theoretically coincides with the body's learning to burn more fat for energy while running, and with muscle adaptations that involve packing more mitochondria into the fibers used for distance running.
From the outset I felt ragged, however. My head hurt for the first 6 km or so. Thereafter I had a few jolts of headache pain, but tried to keep my footfalls gentle and steady to prevent them. At only 8 km I started having a slight ache in my left inner thigh. Those muscles never bothered me until I got near the end of the marathon, when out of nowhere they started cramping. Maybe they're not completely healed. My legs felt unusually tired and heavy. My stride was quite short.
Perhaps I should back off this coming week. According to my blog I've done almost 9 hours of aerobic exercise this week counting bike rides. After this interim period the summer training plan starts. I want to be more focused and in good shape for that.
Posted by Mark at May 1, 2005 10:05 AM