There's Been A Shift...

I feel like I've had a bit of a breakthrough with my running in the last week. That makes me super happy!

I'm remembering all these thoughts/beliefs I've always had about myself and my ability as a runner... beliefs like I'm just one of those swimmers who can't run... And ok, let's face it, it's not like I'm setting the world on fire with my running right now or anything, but there has definitely been a shift in the last week, and it feels awesome.

I remember a few weeks ago telling coach that I was super happy with where my cycling was... that riding at the right HR was getting so much better. The progression went like this: In January, I had to hold way the heck back to keep my HR <150. Most rides it was like back off... back off... ease up... back off... but that only lasted like a month and then sometime in February I remember thinking, wow, I can just ride steady and as long as I don't push it I can keep my HR <150. Then in March I really didn't have to hold back at all and HR was pretty much never too high, unless maybe I was climbing. Then in April I busted my ass riding with groups and didn't pay attention to HR much at all. Now in May I read that I'm supposed to get my HR up to 150 on a ride and I'm like Crap. That is going to be HARD! See the shift? Major.

The problem was that I wasn't seeing the same improvement with my running. I mean, it was there to a degree, but not nearly as drastic as what I had seen with my cycling. I asked coach about it and he said I just needed more time/miles. These things don't happen overnight. Ok. I saw it with my cycling so I had confidence that sticking with the plan was my best bet so I just kept diligently plodding along. And then sometime in the middle of last week I noticed a change... I didn't have to hold back so much to keep my HR <155. I could just... run. How novel. This morning I went out and jogged 6 miles and never once had to back off to keep my HR where I wanted it to be. In fact, first mile was avg 133. Can you believe that?? I swear, I couldn't take a jogging step downhill at HR 133 in January. Today I did it into a headwind at a pace ~30 sec faster than I used to jog at 150. THAT is a major shift. It feels like the same one I saw with my cycling a few months ago, which makes me absolutely psyched to see what happens with my running by the time fall rolls around! Stay tuned... This is cool shit.