I did my first MAF test yesterday on track. My MAF is 140.
I started with 2 laps of warming up.
Here are the times for the 5 miles. Heat was 80 and humidity was 60%.
1 12'36''
2 13'21''
3 13'55''
4 13'54''
5 14'03''
2 things surprised me during this first test. The difference of speed between the first mile and the others especially 1 and 2. The second thing is 3 4 and 4 that were so close.
I may not have warmed up enough for this though to be honest i never really warmed up before running.
What do you guys thing about those results?
Bertrand
PR: 5k 31'15'' (220 lbs)
I did my first MAF test yesterday on track. My MAF is 140. I started with 2 laps of warming up. Here are the times for the 5 miles. Heat was 80 and humidity was 60%. 1 12'36'' 2 13'21'' 3 13'55'' 4 13'54'' 5 14'03'' 2 things surprised me during this first test. The difference of speed between the first mile and the others especially 1 and 2. The second thing is 3 4 and 4 that were so close. I may not have warmed up enough for this though to be honest i never really warmed up before running. What do you guys thing about those results?
you need to warmup for about 12-15mins at a HR lower than your MAF. 2 laps is about half a mile so it probably was not enough warmup.
Consistently Slow
+1
Run until the trail runs out.
SCHEDULE 2016--
The pain that hurts the worse is the imagined pain. One of the most difficult arts of racing is learning to ignore the imagined pain and just live with the present pain (which is always bearable.) - Jeff
http://bkclay.blogspot.com/
You definately need to warmup and ease up to MAF when doing your MAF Tests.
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Yesterday i did a 5M at an average of 12'45''/M. It was a bit cooler so it probably helped but still it feels good to see some results even only a week and a half after. I know this is probably the runs i did before that also are starting to pay but i like the fact i can run faster at the same heart rate. I will do my next MAF test in 2 weeks just before my first half marathon. I am also losing weight as i was 215 yesterday as opposed to 217 for the MAF test. I like the fact i am losing slowly the weight. Every time i did it too fast i got it back...
I have 2 questions for you guys. The first one regarding long runs. Last week i had a 10M and the week before 9M. When i do those i use a running walk method of 9 min running 1 min walk. I feel it helps my body feel less stress from the long run. Is that acceptable in perspective of marathon training?
The second question is regarding the half marathon in 2 weeks. Should i try to run it at the marathon pace i would like to have or do my best on the distance? When training MAF and building endurance i also read that running higher than MAF can reduce or stop improvement. In that regard what should i do with the half marathon?
Yesterday i did a 5M at an average of 12'45''/M. It was a bit cooler so it probably helped but still it feels good to see some results even only a week and a half after. I know this is probably the runs i did before that also are starting to pay but i like the fact i can run faster at the same heart rate. I will do my next MAF test in 2 weeks just before my first half marathon. I am also losing weight as i was 215 yesterday as opposed to 217 for the MAF test. I like the fact i am losing slowly the weight. Every time i did it too fast i got it back... I have 2 questions for you guys. The first one regarding long runs. Last week i had a 10M and the week before 9M. When i do those i use a running walk method of 9 min running 1 min walk. I feel it helps my body feel less stress from the long run. Is that acceptable in perspective of marathon training? The second question is regarding the half marathon in 2 weeks. Should i try to run it at the marathon pace i would like to have or do my best on the distance? When training MAF and building endurance i also read that running higher than MAF can reduce or stop improvement. In that regard what should i do with the half marathon?
nice improvement! congrats! it is not even really from weight loss as the difference between 215 and 217 does not seem to be big enough to affect performance. so it is a result of your training, very cool!
I think the runwalk method is called gallowalking. some people do use it for marathons. it is not a good strategy if you want to run the best possible marathon time, but does help people who don't care about their marathon time and don't want to train high mileage for marathon.
as for the half marathon, if you still want to stay in base building, then it may be best to skip the race, at least I find it is very hard to rein yourself in when in a race. your other option is to change to "anaerobic" phase. a third option is do the race and if there is a regression, just train yourself back to normal over a few days or so, it should be only temporary regression. if there is no regression at all, great.
btw, marathon pace is usually faster than MAF pace.
as for the half marathon, if you still want to stay in base building, then it may be best to skip the race, at least I find it is very hard to rein yourself in when in a race. your other option is to change to "anaerobic" phase. a third option is do the race and if there is a regression, just train yourself back to normal over a few days or so, it should be only temporary regression. if there is no regression at all, great. btw, marathon pace is usually faster than MAF pace.
i was thinking about skipping the "race" and just go for a 13 miler instead.
About the pace for the half marathon i had that intentsity
Race > Marathon pace > MAF
The thing is that beeing into that building phase i dont want to miss potential improvements that could possibly help me on race day. My goal time for the marathon would be between 4h45 and 5H. But ultimately before 5... When i look at my performance now i still have a long way to go. Especially when i consider my first 5k time a few weeks ago 10'03/M and to run in 4h45 i would have to run the marathon at 10'52/M. This marathon is still 12 weeks away. I would like to at least reach 200 lbs by that time possibly less. My endurance should also be way better that what it is now.
@runnerclay thanks for the link i will definitely use it.
Thanks for your replies guys.
Edit : reading again the correspondence chart between MAF and Marathon time would suggest i could already reach that goal... I think i will just train with MAF all the way before the last long run and decided which time i can realistically aim for.
Your plan appears to be sound. Stay at maff for the 12 weeks. Run the marathon at the suggested pace and you should finish standing. The long training runs may cause some regression. I would suggest doing time on feet for the long run instead of number of miles. Four hour limit.
Today i had decided to do my second MAF test. The weather was far from ideal but it is always difficult to find the right time during summer. Friday i did a 12 miler long run and at a good pace too. The last 3 miles were pretty hard on my legs but i felt i was pushing my limits so i kept going. 3 days after i still feel it a bit in my legs but i have a feeling the really hard DOMS i had before are starting to be less painful though they are still there. I guess my body is just getting used to the training.
On the track there was a camp with kids and they sure didn't made my job easier. The guys with them probably never heard of etiquette... So here are my result for the second test.
7/4 7/26
T 80 95
H 60 50
W 216 212
1 12'36'' 11'48''
2 13'21'' 11'59''
3 13'55'' 12'21''
4 13'54'' 12'45''
5 14'03'' 12'56''
1H07'49'' 1H01'50''
Av 13'34'' 12'22''
I definitely feel i am improving and it really feels good. If i can keep going i have the feeling good things will happen. So far MAF is definitely working for me
SWEET!
7/4 7/26 T 80 95 H 60 50 W 216 212 1 12'36'' 11'48'' 2 13'21'' 11'59'' 3 13'55'' 12'21'' 4 13'54'' 12'45'' 5 14'03'' 12'56'' 1H07'49'' 1H01'50'' Av 13'34'' 12'22'' I definitely feel i am improving and it really feels good. If i can keep going i have the feeling good things will happen. So far MAF is definitely working for me
11:48 @ 95F. WOW!
Sweet! Please make your log public! I want to see what you are doing to get theese kind of results. *Drools*
Running Blog: On my two feet
congrats=) yeah I'm curious about the log myself.
I dont use the log so far. That is the reason i dont make it public . I use the garmin program and i try to complete it with a simple journal. Right now i am just following al Higdon novice plan for the marathon. I just do all my runs at MAF. Sometimes i feel i have a hard time on long runs and there are too many of them in the program especially for a complete novice. Last week i did a 12M long run and the last 3M were really hard. i still feel it in my legs today and i am supposed to run a half marathon this weekend. I will probably use a run walk method if i feel my legs didn't recover enough.
I think that part of those results is probably the lack of fitness i have. I am just catching up a bit.What i really would like in the future is getting my MAF under the 10m/M pace but it is not for tomorrow... I will try to look a bit further and see if i can enter my workouts for you to see.
Btw Thanks for your support guys i really appreciate it.