Pond View
Pretty Butterfly
Richmond 2009
Your first test in January was done in 55º, partly cloudy-perfect weather. This latest one was done in 70º and sunny, not so optimal. That 15º makes a big difference. I'm not sure of the humidity difference, but if today was higher that makes a bigger difference. You're not that far off.
--Jimmy
I wasn't being optimistic, i was stating a fact about comparing performances. You can't put a performance done at 55º on the same playing field as one at 70º. There is a big difference between those two temperatures. An elite might not see a huge drop, but they will see one. Compare the top ten times at the Boston Marathon when the race is done at 70º and done in the 50's. Not even close. Amateurs like oursellves will see a much bigger drop. Whether you are doing MAF tests or LT runs or MRP runs, if you are wearing a HRM and using a particular zone, temp and humidity always is a factor in comparisons.
Aaack!
Flower - good to see some progression. I just read the thread and forgive me for hitting some of the other points albeit a bit late. Jimmy is (as usual) spot on regarding the change in outside conditions. Higher temps/humidity really kick the MAF results in the teeth. I am now totally a treadmill guy for MAF tests. I get a stable environment which can tell me more about my training and stress levels at that time. Well except the stuff on the tv monitor during the run
It looks like you are progressing in the training. I would recommend moving the MAF test infoors to remove the environmental aspect and reduce some variation. One thing we learned in research is that you need to be able to limit the number of movin variables to be able to validate results from sample ot sample.
Looks like a little regression, very little, pretty close, from the 6/15 test to the 7/8.
The temp on 6/15 was 70º and sunny. What about today?
It's okay to care. I care about my MAF tests. We can start a new forum together called "We Care About Our MAF Test Results" and only invite the intense.
You HAVE to take temperature and humidity into account, Flower. The difference between 70º and 75º can be big (I have problems with 75º+ temps). When you add in high humidity, the difference can be huge. Even the pace of a run done at the same temperature, but one at low humidity, and one at high, can be starkly different at the same HR and fitness. I suggest that you keep track of temp, humidity, dewpoint, sun or overcast, and wind speed.
As you know, I've been reading all your posts (a big fan of the The Flower Show) and following your journey. You started out at 131 for an MAF, dropped to 126, then dropped to 121. You spent at least 3 months trying to wrap your mind around the rest and recovery concept and hard/easy days, and just how brief recovery runs should be. You started to get it around April and I saw progress in your MAY 18th test. That test was done at 121 and the pace was comparable to the tests done at 126. A little while after that you chose to drop lowHR training for Ishtvan's program, which seems to be a bit more anaerobic at times.
The initial 3 months or so, I don't think you were seeing much progress because of your hard/hard/hard/rest sort of scheduling. Once you switched to something less stressful, I saw some progress. The 121 might have been a little low for you as well. Not that you won't see progress at 180-age (-10) and below, but it MIGHT be slower progress for some. -5 might have been better.
Your current tests at 131 are somewhere between a plateau and a little progress when you take temp and humidity into account. Another test in a few weeks will give you a good idea on how your current program is working for you, and whether or not it is paying aerobic dividends.
If you decide to bring your tests indoors as Norm suggests, thne make sure you have a thermometer/hygrometer to measure temp/humidity. I have a cheap one that I keep near the treadmill. Also, make note of the outside humidity. I have noticed that on rainy, overcast days my TM paces will slow a little, even though the inside humidity hasn't risen that much. I like to do my tests on the TM at 1% incline.
Good luck, Flower. Don't let your tests get you down, use them to empower yourself and to modify and optimize your training. It's never the MAF test that let's you down, it's the training and the load that does.
Thanks for posting your results.
Heh. Actually I was only looking at the 131 results and estimating based on temp and humidity differences. Using that small sample there is a slight progression assuming those impacts. Jimmy is more of the expert on the MAF test as I've only been at this for about a year and I agree with his other comments that there was little movement at the low MAF for you.
I just caught the -5 vs. -10 thought and that ties well into the question asked of Dr. Phil on the other thread. Hope he can help on that one as it will help lots of us on this board.
Keep posting the data and keep discussing. One thing I find is that I really need/enjoy learning from other's training and testing. Since I am a sample of one, I need more context and this all make a wonderful LHR/MAF stew.
Jimmy - one question on the indoor humidity and temp. I'm in an office buidling and it remains pretty constant. I know the guy who manages the EMS very very well. Some people even say that we look alike. I don't find humidity fluctuations, even on rainy days, to be more than a couple of percentage points. Have you found this kind of granularity of effect on your tests?
Most of my TM runs ar done during winter when the heat is running. The TM was in the basement, and it would stay fairly cool , about 65º average. The humidity would fluctuate. High humidity outdoors did effect my pace a bit, even though the humidity stayed relatively low (but often it gets higher, but the gas heat would keep it dry). I would turn the heat down when beginning a run, and the humidity would go up a bit from the beginning to the end of the run.
AC I'm sure has a bit of a different effect as it will continually remove moisture from the air. How this will all play out in my new house, I don't know. The TM will be in a small room again.
