Personal Best

Today I ran 5.2 miles in 50 minutes. Felt a little guilty hogging the treadmill next to the sign that reads, “max 30 minutes on all cardio equipment” but I pushed through anyway: 45 minutes at 6.5mph plus a five minute cooldown.

I think I need a heart monitor. I don’t trust the grips on the treadmill. I was running at what I think is a reasonable pace and as I entered the cooldown period I checked the monitor and it read me out at 187 bpm. How could I be going easy and feeling like I could keep going another 10 minutes or more if I were running my heart at 90% of my max? If that’s accurate I think it’s dangerous and I need to keep better track. If it’s inaccurate I need to get an accurate reading.

OK, enough rest. Time to put my goggles on and try a swim. No weights today.