running too hard

I ran 3 miles this morning in 27 mins flat for a 9:00 pace. Whatever, its my usual run pace.

But I felt like I was working really hard for that 9:00 pace. My legs are probably still not fully recovered from last Sunday, but I looked at my heart rate data after the run, and sure enough I was in zone 3 the entire time. I ran too hard!

For this type of run, which was a "go easy" run, I should have been in zone 2 or lower if I could have helped it. That means slowing down. I'm gonna do some tests with my garmin and try to do similar 3 mile runs @ a constant 9:15 and 9:30 paces to see what results I get. Hopefully the weather conditions will be similar and I hadn't chugged a bunch of caffeine the night before to get similar results, since so many factors can throw off your heart rate.

I tried looking for my last running heart rate test from last February, but its lost in some folder. Regardless, it should be fun discovering these zones this way. This is NOT scientific, but it gives me mini goals to accomplish which ALWAYS help out with the motivation factor.