I have been following the MAF method of running since the summer time, and incorporated a fairly "relaxed" version of his approach through December. I had already registered for Fall and Winter races so I couldn't necessarily do the full 3 month commitment of solely MAF HR training, but I wanted to ge the ball rolling with this running approach, and I actually saw some positive progress even with the faster running thrown in during races.
Since the beginning of January, I have been committed to MAF running and have increased my weekly mileage a bit (I am currently shooting for at least 30 mpw). As of January 13th, I have been doing almost all of my runs of the treadmill since my husband prefers I not run in the dark. I'm not typically a fan of the treadmill, but I actually thought this was a good idea b/c it would give me the opportunity to better monitor/control my pace and HR.
Though what I've come to learn in the past few weeks is that my HR is very inconsistent. I always start my runs at a 12 m/m pace and depending on my HR, I increase the pace accordingly. There are days when I can run several miles at an 11 m/m pace (or less) and still be at MAF; but then other days I can't stay under MAF at the 12 m/m pace. I know there are a lot of factors that come into play here, but this seems a little much. It's a bit of a blow to my ego as well b/c everytime I think I'm making progress, I have a "bad" day where I can't even sustain a 12 m/m pace without going over MAF by 5-10 bpm.
Anyone have similiar experiences? Advice would be great if so!!!
I am a 26 year old female, and my MAF HR is 154.
Shannon,
Welcome and good to see you are using the treadmill for evening runs. Much safer. I can't tell you how many times I had to jump off the road because someone didn't see me with my reflective gear, headlamp, and blinkers.
As for erratic HR, I think we can all speak to having this experience. Lots of daily items can affect your running HR. Stress, lack of sleep, spicy food, too little water, too much water, and so on. Don't worry about it. Use the monthly MAF tests as a guide to see if you are building that aerobic engine. If you are training properly, these test will reflect your overall condition. The daily oscillations are just noise.
You can try to correlate higher HR with something from that days events or food or what not to avoid/address these prior to MAF tests, but you may find you are chasing a ghost.
Good luck and keep posting.
I agree with C-R 100%. Day to day fluctuations happen all the time. Compare it to losing weight - if you fret over the number on the scale every morning you'll go nuts, but as long as you eat and exercise in a healthy way and your overall trend is downward, you are doing fine. Same thing with MAF training. Eat and train in a healthy way and check your progress with regular MAF tests. As long as the trend in the MAF tests is faster, don't sweat your pace on the other days too much.
However, it might be good for you to start thinking about why your HR spikes. You might be able to figure out what's going on if you take a careful look at your life in the days leading up to the higher HR days. Keeping track of your daily resting HR might help you too. If your RHR is elevated you'll know to rest or take it extra easy. Of course it could be "just one of those things" you can never nail down - your body might be fighting a small infection you don't even know about or some such thing. As C-R said there's almost no end to the possible causes. Control what you can, don't sweat what you can't, and watch the general trend of your MAF tests.
One other point I would note: You say you start your runs at 12 m/m but some days you can't even keep those runs under MAF. It might be that you're not allowing your body a sufficient time to warm up. Try to ease your HR up over the first 10-15 minutes of your workout so that you get into the MAF zone gradually. Try starting the TM as low as 20 or 25 m/m. Walk gently for a few minutes and then gradually pick up the speed over the next several minutes. A good warm up reduces stress and can help you have a more productive aerobic workout. Cool down the same way.
Thank you for the repsonses...I appreciate the insight. Ultimately, I think I knew the same thing you are all saying...it's just good to hear it from someone else sometimes for assurance!
I'm going to be paying closer to attention to "triggers" in my day to day in an effort to pinpoint the possible cause of this. It's hard for me to accept a "good days and bad days" approach, even though I know that's completely logical!
And GMoney, you're right about the warm up point. I probably need to make a drastic change here. I use a 12 m/m pace as my starting off pace b/c of an experience with ONE run where I was well under MAF at that pace, so I figured that was a good way to "warm up". So, I essential go from sitting to a 12 m/m pace with nothing in between. May not be the absolute cause of my HR concern, but I'm sure it's not helping.
I will also admit that I am not good about doing regular MAF tests, and hearing your insight is a positive reminder that I need to be better about that if I want to truly gauge progress.
Thanks again all!
Shannon
How are your MAF tests? Are they equally as erratic, or are they improving?
Things to consider:
--temperature, humidity and dewpoint are the biggest factors.
--there can be a difference between AM and PM runs in individuals. Some might be quicker at the same HR in the AM or in the PM.
--can be a big difference between an outdoor run and a treadmill run. Normally, the TM run is slower at the same HR. This is due to a building of temp, humidity and rising dewpoint in the workout room.
--if you are doing doubles, then sometimes the second run isn't so good. Sometimes better.
-- sometimes on the day after a long run, your run can be faster than current average speed. I've noticed a lower HR on days after a hard workout like a long run. I'm not sure what causes this, but I know that isn't due to a increase in fitness.
--some days you are more dehydrated than others. Aso, you wake up a bit dehydrated in the morning, especially in the winter when the gas heat is running and the humidity is really low.
Let your MAF tests guide you through all phases and types of training.
--Jimmy
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One thing I've really changed in my running since finding this forum is my warm ups/cool downs. I pretty much went straight into my running pace before - maybe a little easier for a couple of mins but that was it. I now always walk 10 mins to wake my body up then start very slowly the first k/mile and gradually build up slowly to MAF. And I always finish with some walking at the end. I can definitely feel the difference.
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I appreciate the insight on the warm up and cooldown factor...and I completely agree. I do have a question about this though...
I know with MAF training, quality mileage is important, and higher weekly mileage will equate to better results with this type of training. My goal lately has been to hit/exceed 30 mpw. I know that's not "a lot" of miles, but it's the best I can do with my work and time constraints. My question is, if I add in significantly more time for warming up and cooling down, I'm going to lose a good amount of mileage for the week overall...is this worth it? And am I supposed to calculate the warm up and cooldown into my mileage?
Warmup is simple and you can add in the mileage and time--since you're running. Just run a pace that slowly gets your HR up to MAF-10 by the end of the first 15 minutes, then take it from there. You can take longer to get to MAF-10 if you wish. Ways to cooldown can vary, but the idea is to get your heart rate back down in about the same anount of time as you tok too warm-up. Some like to run as a cooldown, some walk. If you choose to run, then you would warm-up, then hang out in your target zone, then slow down your pace to get your HR back down. All the mileage can count if you want.
It's all part of the workout. Personally, I include my warm-up mileage, and don't bother recording my cooldown walk in the total. Though I am fully aware that the walk adds to the training load.
If you manage to progress, your mileage totals will get higher in the same amount of time.
Thanks, Jimmy. That definitely helps. I think I'm going to take the same approach as you and factor in my warm up miles & time, but leave out my cooldown since I'll likely walk for that portion. I'm anxious to see improvement (in pace and distance), but I don't have the time to exceed my current running commitment of 5 1/2 to 6 hours per week. This usually gets me to around 30 mpw, and the plan is to let my pace improve naturally with the MAF approach so that I can run more miles in that same 5 1/2 to 6 hours per week.
Thanks again!!!
I know with MAF training, quality mileage is important, and higher weekly mileage will equate to better results with this type of training.
Don't want to get argumentative, but I don't necessarily agree with this statement. In my experience, more does not always equate to better. Just as we can do too little to improve there is also too much of a good thing, even with MAF training.
I believe that we each have an optimal training load - which may vary from time to time depending on the presence and/or absence of other stressors in our lives. Exceeding that optimal load - in mileage or intensity - can, I think, be detrimental to improvement. In fact, I might even go further: Even the subjective mental pressure to attain a particular training load ("Runner's Guilt") can be detrimental to performance.
5-1/2 to 6 hours weekly might be right for you right now, or it could be too much. Regular MAF tests will be a handy diagnostic to help you figure out what you can handle.
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