Last week J.R. was able to get most of his workouts in. With his hectic travel schedule and multiple commitments it may not have been a bad thing to miss a workout. Stress plays a major part in inhibiting athlete’s performance and recovery. Sleep deprivation  travel, and prolonged exercise can lead to high amounts of cortisol production, which we are trying to keep at normal levels. The most important messages I told J.R. when we began working with each other were that I wanted him on the start line healthy, fresh, and motivated.

We are only 5 weeks away from the marathon so we are really getting in to the thick of the training. J.R. has been training hard, but smart, and the Timex GPS has allowed us to see exactly where his fitness levels are at the moment. The data from the watch really allows us to track his progress and make adjustments if need be.

This is a download of J.R.’s long run this past weekend. After testing J.R. a couple weeks back and establishing his HR zones, we used the Timex Run Trainer GPS to make sure we were working the right energy system. For his longer runs we established he needed to keep his heart rate under 165bpm. The “long run” is not meant to be an anaerobic workout. I have J.R. keep his HR low for these endurance runs because he gets enough tempo during the week. His average pace for these runs is probably about 1min to 90 sec slower than what we will be aiming for in NYC. As you can see, he did a great job of following these instructions and the average pace will drop once his body becomes more accustom to his longer endurance workouts.

J.R. is happy and motivated, which is great news considering the hectic life he leads!