Workout 1: 6-Miler

I have worked through my plan for the year and it's looking like I'll be spending my initial time strictly in HR Zone 1, which for me is between 140 and 160 bpm. I kicked off the training with a nice Z1 6-miler. The weather sucked. 37 degrees with the wind whipping 10-12 mph made it feel like 31 with wind chill factor. My asthma was acting up even though I used my inhaler. Overall, I averaged 158 bpm and 11:35 pace per mile (Nike+ reading). So not only was it cold, I also realized I'm a total slow ass.

Here's the breakdown (Polar s520); the formatting sucks:
Mile Pace Avg Max
1- 11:22 149 158
2- 11:41 155 160
3- 11:53 161 172
4- 11:56 159 162
5- 11:52 157 166
6- 11:08 168 175

A couple things to note:

1. I recognize the fact that the Nike+ SDM may not be the most accurate on the market, even after I did the calibration. It's telling me 11:35 pace, but the Polar is saying 11:38. This discrepancy may be due to the delay in me pressing the Lap button on the Polar watch once Nike+ tells me I've gone another mile. At any rate, my point is that I'm going to focus more on the relative changes in my pace, while working to maintain my HR in Zone 1, instead of putting much focus on my recorded pace for each run.
2. My average HR for this run was kind of up there, even though it remained in Z1. I am attributing it to the wind today and hills in the area in which I run, also because of my asthma and the cold. The cold always makes it worse. This also explains the many spikes in HR throughout.

Overall, I felt pretty good, although it's hard not to when you're moving along like a grandpa. Fitting that I'll be 30 in 24 days. It's all progress from here - I can't get much slower...

On another note, I got my tickets to see "Spirit of the Marathon". This is a movie chronicling six runners of the Chicago Marathon and will be shown nationwide one day only - January 24th (this Thursday). Should be quite motivational!

Three miler tomorrow.