One thing to note is that there is ample research evidence (I do not have it at my fingertips) that aerobic base miles also assist the heart in capilarization. This adds benefits down the road as the heart litteraly gets larger and stronger. I think Dr. Phil discusses some of this but I need to reread the books.

 

 Interesting.I don't know if I mentioned but I still have one tertiary artery that is more than 60%blocked. I denied them permission to intervene because it was difficult to reach and I didn't want to risk a torn artery - that is what killed my Mom. They said it would eventually close off and that I could either not feel anything, since the area of the heart it covers is also covered by others, or I could have a heart attack! If additional capillaries are growing that is definitely a good thing for me! I'm hoping that running will keep cholesterol's low enough that I don't do a Clinton and get blocked again.

I know it feels good running with lhr. there are times I feel I can keep going at maf-5 forever. Other training methods never yielded that result.

Planned18. Did 10.8. Knee trouble while walking the 1st mile WU. Run 5.7 miles and was ready to call it quits. Decided to run on the trail instead. The pain in the knee stop however left calf tighten up. Probably not hydrated. The plan was to get water as I looped the mtn. No water fountains on the trail. Stopped running at 8.7 miles. Walked the last 2.1 to the car.Thought about walk the 5 loop since a club member was running the other direction.She is just getting back in shape. Keep up with her would not be a problem. I did the wise thing. Drove home. Maybe next week for long run.

PS: I notice my resting HR had gone up from 51 to 56 before getting out of bed. Checked it 2 weeks ago and again this morning. While out on my run I remember the DR. cut my BP medics in half. 20 mg to 10mg. I plan to check again after my next rest day.

Well, I am back.  I took two months off, but not really.  I took two weeks of at the end of Dec and then ran 4 miles about 3 times a week for the rest of the time.  I just ran my first long run of the new year, and ran it at a pace of 11:30 minutes per mile and at a HR of 138.  Last fall, I did the same run at a HR of 128.  So, I have lost fitness, at a level that I expected.

I am running everything now by feel and recording the data.  My MAF is 132, but I find that I like running in the mid 130s to low 140s.  I am going to stick with this and see how it works out.  It will be interesting to compare it to when I ran everything under MAF last year.

I should probably reintroduce myself as I have been absent from posting for quite some time now. I am a new runner starting last fall at the age of 61(now 62). I started running with the goal of being able to complete a 10K charity run  with a friend this June.

I have to say that I have found MAF training very frustrating. It seems that I am a very competitive person even though  I am only competing with myself at this point in time. I am used to achieving my goals fairly quickly but this running business has set me back. I found I was becoming too obsessed with running. If you can imagine someone who runs 17-18 min/mile poring over lap times you will have an idea of what I mean.

I decided to revise my approach to running and focus on time rather than pace. I have tried to run at least 1 hour  daily with walking breaks as needed. I have kept track of HR only although I know how far I'm going as they are routes I have used before. So for almost the last two months I have been running by time and HR alone. This approach is definitely working for me. I have improved my MAF times from 18-19min/mile to the neighbourhood of 15/min/mile. My total time on my feet is two to two and a half hours daily as I also walk the dogs every day.

I am thrilled to report my MAF test today:

MAF=118

Mile 1 14:02 MAX HR 116

Mile 2 14:48 MAX HR 119

Mile 3 15:58 MAX HR 121

Mile 4 17:38 MAX HR 123

Even though I am somewhat over MAF on the last three miles I am not discouraged. There were several small hills after the first mile which made me walk previously. I was pleasantly surprised to be able to run them today even though I went over MAF. I think there is no doubt that I will be able to do my 10K race without totally embarrassing myself.

Even though I haven't been posting I have been lurking and reading all of your achievements. One day I hope to be able to participate in this group as a real runner as are all of you.

Anne