Today, there is no way I am going to write anything else but sports. I had an important day for my important hobby, running. I think I already mentioned that I have signed up for a marathon school; I have trained by myself for a bit over two years now, and I am dreaming of running a full marathon for the first time, so I felt like it was a wise course of action to get some kind of light coaching to check if anything I am doing has any sense and if the effort I am making is going to get any results.
To the point: The marathon school began with a running lactate test to discover the starting point of our endurance and fitness. Also, the results will include the exact heart rate limits of the different heart rate zones. For those who are not into sports so much, the zones are used to decide how to train; for example, my current marathon training program includes a lot of low-effort running and a little bit of interval training to get the higher zones in use.
The test was absolutely horrible! We got heart rate sensor belts and watches, and then we started running in a gradually rising effort. We run in 1 kilometer rounds so that the first round was walking, and then we raise the heart rate by about ten units every round.
I did six rounds. The first two were not very pleasant: you have to keep the heart rate low, so you have to go extremely slowly. For me, the first round was a full walk, and the second was very slow running with some walk breaks. After that, it got great. I still, of course, needed to control the pace, but I could run the whole round at least. It is mentally hard when you are being way slower than you want to be, but I see it as a big win that I was really well able to have an even pace every round.
The two final rounds were something else. The 5th round was pretty fun still; I got to go on a nice rolling pace, but I could already feel that I would not be able to go on that pace all day. Then, in the final round, the guideline was to go as fast as you can go a kilometer, and I sure went. Or at least begin the round that way. I have never gone that fast in my life. Like 150 meters in, I already noticed this was going to get tough and was already slowing down a bit, but the test keepers had apparently prepared for that and sent a pacer with me. 😅 I have absolutely no idea how I managed to finish the whole kilometer when, after 300 meters, I was ready to die, but I did and survived! My final round pace was 4:54, so I really outdid myself. I would not have thought to be able to keep up this kind of speed.
Well, what happens after this? I will, of course, continue my weekly training schedule. I already have two races coming up next summer, so I have to keep it up. To motivate myself (and to decorate my apartment), I purchased a medal hanger that I am using to showcase my participation medals. They also motivate me whenever it is a day when I would not like to go on my run.
So, with these words, I wish everyone good luck with their sporty endeavours, and to those who are not so sporty, I wish patience to hear me talking about it. 😉
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