Run zones & testing
Run Zones.
I am in Week 4 of JOS. My baby is 6 months old so came from ZERO fitness (was lazy during pregnancy and recovery). I'm doing everything right-have done this before, returning to fitness after pregnancy. NOt to sound cocky, just sayin'. I've been dedicated and I'm resting when asked, etc. I feel like my fitness has improved so much in 4 weeks. Is there any truth to my thought process of-a person coming from zero fitness can improve faster than a person coming from 50% fitness? I know, it probably varies from person to person.
Week 1 5k test was 32:34--Don't laugh!! I'll be back up to speed soon!! 
So, this puts me at about a 10:34 Z4. It was hard at first, but now it is not. And, when I am on pace I am MAYBE at the bottom of the zone, but usually below. I am supposed to test again in week 8, but do you think I should test this week? My bike workouts feel hard, good, they burn, I feel "alive!!" at the end...I think those paces/zones are on. But, my runs? I just don't feel that wiped....could it be? Today I finished my "remainder at z3" at the z4 pace. No probs at all. Of course I sweat, but it just wasn't a buuuurn feeling....Should I retest?
Secondly, I initially tested on an indoor track, but I want to do the remainder of the JOS on the dreadmill, which is where I've been training. HOW DO YOU TEST on a treadmill and what is the general increase of pace in a 4 week period? If my first 5k pace was 10:34, do I pick a 10:10 pace (my zone 5 pace)? Do I not pick one pace and push arrows higher and lower as need be and finish through hard to the end?
All of my tx has been done at a 1.0 incline as well.
Please help. After 4 weeks I felt like I was starting to know something. Now my head is mumble jumbled again and I feel lost...
Comments
Second. No one is laughing at your pace. Leaste of all me who can't run at all right now! But I wouldn't bother testing. Yes, I bet you've already gotten a pretty big jump in fitness, but it's not gonna hurt you to wait a few more weeks until the official test, and by then you'll have a much better idea of what to shoot for on your run. It's really not that far away.
Finally- assuming you are using the same treadmill each time, your test process is really not gonna be that much different than for folks testing outside in the real world using a Garmin to watch pace. You'll want to try and run a steady pace, so you are going to shoot for what you honestly think you can hold for the whole 5K. After doing a few more weeks of these intervals, you should have a pretty good idea of what that will be.
Seems to me you are on a steep curve as your fitness rapidly returns to a prior point. Your optimal training zones are likely changing. Personally I would test again.
When my week 1 test was a disaster I started a post in the Power and Pace forum and learned from some very good input that your VDOT and training paces are a combination of art and science. You know your body and RPE, and if your training paces are set well outside of where they should be, you will probably know this and feel the need to adjust.
But of course we are always cautious on run training due to the potential for injury, so you come back to re-testing as a good option (vs. simply adjusting your paces based on RPE).
Regarding testing procedure on a treadmill, there was very recently a post in Power and Pace on this topic where some of the WSMs had great points.
I always hate to disagree with Nemo in general (cuz I'm usually wrong), but in this situation, I don't see the harm of throwing in a spontaneous re-test, as long as you acknowledge the risks and manage them. A test is harder than a typical workout, and therefore requires more recovery. So, if you decide to do it, switch up a rest day, or go a little easier the next day.
I did this about a week and a half ago. Usually, I hit a few tells that it's time to re-test (ie. instead of feeling good during Z4, I start thinking to myself, this feels easy). It can be a big confidence boost, especially when you feel like you've come such a long way in such a short time.
For a treadmill, I wrote up some Vdot test pacing suggestions last year that some folks found helpful, here
http://members.endurancenation.us/Community/Forums/tabid/101/aft/1095/Default.aspx#1095
Good luck!