I’ve been doing some reading on VO2 max and came across a discussion of the Cooper Fitness Test:
The Cooper test is a test of physical fitness. It was designed by Kenneth H. Cooper in 1968 for US military use. In the original form, the point of the test is to run as far as possible within 12 minutes.
There are rating brackets for how much distance you can cover in the allotted time. Basically if you can run more than 2300 meters (1.42 miles @ 8:24/mi) that is considered good. If you can hit 2700 meters (1.68 miles @ 7:09/mi) that is considered excellent. Ratings differ slightly depending on age and sex.
And supposedly there is a decent correlation between the Cooper Test results and VO2 max.
Makes me want to head over to the local track and try it.
Today was Week 5 Day 7 of the Hal Higdon 5K Intermediate Training Plan.
I swapped days on the schedule and did my long run yesterday, so today was four miles at a fast pace. According to the plan, “fast” means that you are basically running at a non-conversational pace.
Got up before sunrise this morning and decided to do an extremely slow warm-up mile before I tried to speed it up. Covered 1.0 mile in 12:18, and then settled into a quicker pace. Ended up running the next 4.0 miles in 38:45 (9:41/mi pace). My 1-mile splits were 9:34, 9:47, 9:59, and 9:25.
This was my first pre-dawn run, and I really enjoyed it. Just me and the crickets out there, so it was really nice. But still, I’m exhausted and will be enjoying my rest day scheduled for tomorrow.
Today was Week 5 Day 6 of the Hal Higdon 5K Intermediate Training Plan.
Once again I switched the workout days to fit my schedule a little better. Ended up doing my long run today so I could hit the Heritage Rail Trail at sunrise (7:08 AM) with Nate and and Eric.
Nate had 8 miles scheduled. I had 10K (6.21 miles) scheduled, and Eric was planning on doing 20 miles for his marathon training. The plan was for Nate and I to keep Eric company for the first 6 miles of his run and then he’d just continue on.
As it turned out, my legs were feeling great today and the run was awesome. So Nate and I did the full eight miles (new distance for me) from Brillhart Station to Glatfelters Station and back. Ran through the Howard Tunnel twice, so that pretty much shot my GPS accuracy, but such is life.
I forgot to hit the stop button on my Forerunner at 8.0 miles. So including a little bit of cool-down, I covered 8.04 miles in 1:24:25 (10:29/mi pace) with an average speed of 5.7 mph. My 1-mile splits, if correct, were 10:12, 11:20, 10:07, 10:11, 10:20, 10:25, 10:20, and 10:46. Burned somewhere in the neighborhood of 1260 calories.
Running with people makes the time fly by. Definitely an enjoyable run today.
I swapped Week 5 Day 4 and Day 5 of this week, so yesterday was a rest day and today was an easy three.
Covered 3.11 miles in 33:40 (10:50/mi pace) with an average speed of 5.5 mph and a max of 7.4 mph. Splits were 10:55, 11:05, and 10:41. A slight kick at the end to finish the last 0.11 at a 8:51/mi pace. Burned about 470 calories.
It was supposedly only 57% humidity out there, but I was soaked by the time I got home. Definitely not an easy run.
Pearl Izumi has some wallpapers available at their We Are Not Joggers website.
Today was Week 5 Day 3 of the Hal Higdon 5K Intermediate Training Plan.
Wednesday. Intervals. That, of course, means that I was breathing heavier than a pregnant walrus.
Covered 3.50 miles in 37:06 (10:36/mi pace) with an average speed of 5.7 mph and a max of 12.8 mph. Did 7 x 400 meter intervals, with average running paces of 6:11, 6:08, 6:17, 6:37, 6:29, 6:49, and 6:03/mi. Burned about 440 calories.
I was certainly spent by the time I finished, but I didn’t feel all that horrible. So I was shocked to see that I was actually a bit faster on the running intervals than I was previously. That’s cool.
Felt good today. Perhaps the fall weather is helping.
Today was Week 5 Day 2 of the Hal Higdon 5K Intermediate Training Plan.
Easy three today. Weather was nice, and I decided to take it slow and just enjoy the day.
Covered 3.11 miles in 32:01 (10:18/mi pace) with an average speed of 5.8 mph and a max of 8.3 mph. Splits were 9:58, 10:30, and 10:40, with the last 0.11 at a 8:09/mi pace. Burned around 470 calories.
Today was a good one.
Today was Week 5 Day 1 of the Hal Higdon 5K Intermediate Training Plan.
I had a rest day scheduled for today, but ended up making up a three mile run from W4D4. Headed out after work and it went pretty well.
Ran 3.11 miles in 29:48 (9:35/mi pace) with an average speed of 6.3 mph and a max of 9.5 mph. My 1-mile splits were 7:44, 10:33, and 10:41 with the last 0.11 at a 7:42/mi pace. The splits are notable because my first mile was actually a tiny bit faster than my 1-mile PR… but then the wheels fell off for the second two miles. Heh.
Either way, burned about 470 calories. Nice weather. Nice run.
By the way, I finished up Week 4 of the Hal Higdon 5K Intermediate Training Plan. So I’m officially over half way through the eight week program. The Tunnel to Towers Run was my W4D7 5K test.
The Tunnels to Towers 5K was amazing.
Last year, they had about 15,000 participants. This year I saw bib numbers above 18000 and, according to the news, they had well over 20,000 participants. Hundreds of firemen, police officers, military personnel, were there… many in full gear.
According to my chip I finished in 27:49 (8:57/mi pace) which, while not my best ever, was certainly a respectable time. I lost quite a bit of time weaving in and out of walkers and basically just trying to keep moving through the course. Also, I obviously lost my GPS signal after I entered the tunnel, and it never really recovered. So I don’t really have much data for the run and, as you can tell from the map below, the run track isn’t quite accurate:
But then, getting a PR wasn’t the point of this one.
Here’s how the Staten Island Advance put it:
There are plenty of road races for runners who want to post a fast time, or go head-to-head against the best in the neighborhood.
Stephen Siller’s race just isn’t one of them.
There were plenty of athletes fidgeting in the E-ZPass lanes on the Brooklyn side of the tunnel earlier today, and no shortage of competitors. But for one day a year, most of them stuff their egos into their knapsacks and load them onto the UPS trucks headed for the finish line, for the chance to be part of something bigger than themselves.
Indeed.