Running to the beat

Last night after work i headed down to the gym for a run. I was, as normal, in a running vest and shorts and had a polar heart monitor/chest strap snugly fitted beneath my shirt.

I jumped on the treadmill next to a fairly healthy looking guy clipping along at 15kph. I trotted out my normal 1500m at a steady pace and then got off to stretch out my limbs and prepare for a faster 5k. Mr. 15kph was now mr 17kph.

Anyway, I jumped back on and decided that the momentum of my neighbour was enough motivation to try a fast run and I whacked up the speed and set off. Within a couple of minutes I could see my heart rate on the treadmill was slowly but steadily climbing (as you would expect at sub 5-minute 5km's). I kept plodding along until I noticed that my heart rate was ALSO climbing slowly and steadily on my nieghbour's treadmill screen.

Now, the reason that I am doing these faster 5's is that my heart rate is low and constant at anywhere below 10.5km's per hour. I need to get to a point where my heart is sitting at 150bpm at a pace of 12kph (or slightly less) if I want to reduce my marathon time by 15 minutes. This is, after all is the simple economics of fitness.

At the moment though, as i am still building base fitness, anything above 12kph drives my heart rate super high, (especially on my neighbours treadmill screen). When I hit the high 80's and was closing in on 90% maximum bpm,  all I could think about was my neighbour. What would I do if i was running along (and he had slowed down a lot by now) and i looked down at my screen and saw a heart rate that was clearly too high for my pace... would it cause me (him) to panic and fall off the treadmill? Would i realise that it wasnt my heart?

All of this nonsense going on in my head made my bpm edge even a little higher. Ignoring it was not an option so, mid-stride, cool-as-a-cucumber, I hoisted my shirt, unshackled my strap and chucked it on the floor, mumbling something about an itch. Did he notice? I have no idea. Did my bpm settle a little? Absolutely. Did i run a 23:35? Yes i did. Did I feel good at the end? Absolutely. Can I go faster next time? Without a doubt. Will I take 15 minutes off my marathon time? No question. Will I wear a heart monitor to the gym next time? Not so sure...