I spent a good part of yesterday watching the Ironman World Championship. By the time that the race finished, it was getting late, but I still went out for my long run.  I enjoyed my run, mostly because I followed my coaches instructions, to run at a super easy effort.

For some endurance runs, you really cannot go easy enough.  The benefit is time on your feet, and there is no need to tax your aerobic system.  As I started my run yesterday, I was determined to run at a super easy effort.  This was because I was scheduled to ride my bike today and not run.  I had made the decision to switch workouts however, because the weather was bad for riding outside today. This meant I was doing back to back days with fairly long runs.

I was very successful at keeping my effort low.  The chart above shows that I did three quarters of the run in my Zone 1 heart rate range.  The only time that my heart rate kicked up a little higher, was when I needed to run up hills.  Even then, my heart rate typically only just went into Zone 2.  The highest my heart rate got was Zone 3 and it was only in that zone for 16 seconds.

I did make the right decision to switch workouts. As I write this on Sunday morning, it is a beautiful sunny day outside.  It’s time to go ride….