Sunday, March 29, 2009

P90X Round 2 Day 69: Kenpo/5K Run

Yesterday was the scheduled Kenpo day. I decided to skip it and do a 5K run instead. Annie wanted to do Kenpo together so we will do it later today and just not take a rest day this week!

I wanted to do the 5K since I am going to be training for a triathlon and felt like I need to gauge my fitness level. Throughout the years I have always played explosive type sports that require quick burst of energy and action. Long distance running has never really appealed to me. And even though P90X has put me into excellent physical condition, it is still different then running!

So on Friday I jumped in the car and mapped out a 3.1 mile course in my neighborhood. Since it has been years since I have even attempted a run of this long my expectations were rather low. I got up at 6am and upon realizing that it was pitch dark (forgot about Daylight Savings) and freezing (42 degrees!) outside promptly returned to the warmth of my bed! So, once it got light out I tried again. It was still freezing (46 degrees) and very windy but I still wanted to run. To make a long story short - I did the entire 3.1 miles and only stopped once when the wind blew my hat off! I wore my HRM and did the entire thing in 29 minutes and burned 375 calories. Since I really wasn't sure how to pace myself I used my HRM as a guide by keeping myself in a range of 155-165 BPM. If I went over this I would just slow my pace until it went back to range.

Overall, I was pleased with my run. At times I felt winded during the run but never felt over matched or tired. I am now confident that I will be able to do the running part of the triathlon. Once I do this a few more times and figure out pace and tempo I am sure I will be able to knock a few minutes of the overall time.

I have set some preliminary time goals for what I'd like to accomplish the Triathlon in. 1/2 miles swim - 8 minutes; 14 mile bike ride - 42 minutes; 5k run - 25 minutes. If you add in the transition times of say 5 minutes I'd like to do the triathlon in an 1:20.

Thanks for Reading,

Jeff

2 comments:

  1. Jeff, 29 minutes is an excellent time for a 5K, especially since long distance running has not been in your repertoire. That is better than a 10 minute/mile average. WAY TO GO!!!

    I am not there yet. After my bike/run brick I only came up with 34 minutes. I need to try it without biking first to see where I am at. I have been running the treadmill on a systematic walk/run program so I did not know where my 5K was without the walking. The brick was the first time I ever timed myself on running the entire distance. I will be pretty happy to get my run under 30 minutes. I am on my last recovery week starting tomorrow. So instead of yoga (eeeeww!), I will go on a 5K run to see where I am at without the bike brick. I may even do a bit of yoga later on in the day (yeah, right!).

    Your goals for the triathlon are great and for you it sound do-able. I know you are going to do well. I, on the other hand, will be happy to finish!

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  2. Good work on the run! You may want to adjust your swimming goal. A half mile in 8 minutes would be under a minute per 100yards. Unless you're a world class swimmer, that won't be possible. I think 15-20 minutes would be more realistic. Good luck!

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