Forums >General Running>HR Training - 100k
I've run 6 marathons and a trail 50k so far, and due to some life events, I've fallen off from my running over the last year. I am slowly getting back at it, and have a 100k targeted for next January, so about 11 months to train. I was signed up for the same 100k before I was derailed by life, and its been lingering out there in mind. It must be completed.
My question for everyone is this, I am completely new to HR training, and want to give it a go (hoping my focus on fitness and HR and not pace will help me regain my love for running). I'm not sure where to start or any specific plans to follow?
If it were me, I'd focus just on running, without any constraints of pace OR heart rate training. At least for a few months. To regain your love for running, you just need to run. As often as you can. Shackling yourself with plans and paraphernalia may lock you into something that holds you back, rather than moves you forward. Focusing on fitness using running is a great idea. Run frequently, ramp up gradually, enjoy the good moments and forget the bad (if there even are any) moments. Just run.
And please, please, please, set yourself some reasonable intermediate goals on the way to your 100K. Fitness is for life. One and done looks good on a bucket list, but may not give you all of the benefits and joy that restoring your love for running will give you.
Full disclosure: I tried HR training for a very long while (on and off for >1 year) and just felt too restricted and slow. It never grew comfortable. Once I abandoned it, I never looked back. Others love it and have their reasons. It just wasn't for me.
When i started running regularly, I was doing HR training. I did that over a year. But then I got tired of wearing it all the time. I was setting my HR monitor to beep when it goes out of zone that I set. I got tired of it too.
I realized that I like running and I do not care how fast or slow or at what heart rate I run. I just like going out and enjoy it. I push it a bit if I feel like it and I slow down when I feel like. I do that for most of my runs.
Once in a while I do tempo, progressive work and I look at my watch to run at certain pace. But I stopped wearing HR monitor completely now.