DTF - I cant remember if you were doing any sort of HR training or not.  How long ago was that HM you did that you were using that pace?  I guess what I am looking for is if you feel that you are occasionally pushing your aerobic fitness every now and then.  Pushing your heart and lungs occasionally should make them able to work harder in the long run.  If I have it in me, I like to do those final miles of a LR pretty close to GMP, which it appears you are doing.  So I guess my question is, "does your weekly quality day truly feel like a quality day, leaving you thinking that you gave a solid effort that will boost your fitness?"

Indy - thanks so much as always - this is good stuff - the HM at 8:18/mile was my final Pfitz tune up race last year in mid-Sept. I'm running the same one again this year in mid Sept.  This next month is important as I enter into solid long runs over 16 miles. So i'll have to decide what to do.  As for HR stuff, I use a monitor in my training and watch the pace and avg HR for each workout and compare notes.  For long runs, Pfitz says my HR should be 134-151. For those non-MP long run's, I've been hitting HR's ~138 at paces ~ 9:35.  So this sounds like the lower end of the range on a cool day. I agree with pushing things to not chase pace goals in a book.  I'm thinking I may need to push myself to 9:30  (Hansons 3:50 pace) or better with the final miles at GMP (9:09). This would be different than how I prepared last year so maybe it will be a good stimulus.  I just worry a little since conventional wisdom in the books say that you build endurance by running slower on long runs

Hello all - 20 down - was a procedural mess though - 30 min delay this am - lost my cheap sun glasses in my pocket in a grass field before starting and couldn't find it with a flashlight.(I forgot my headlamp too) So did my 8 mile loop and saw the glasses on the second loop -lol. I ran this one more on effort and had a good pace but have mixed feelings if I did well or not

Indy - ok - not sure if I ran smart or not today lol - averaged 9:14 today which makes me wonder if I ran a little too close to GMP for the whole run -  ran first 3 at 9:45 (135HR) + 13 at 9:14 (140 HR) + 4 at 8:56 (148HR) finishing in 3:05 - last year I ran more on pace target and finished in 3:30. My real goal was to run at 9:30 with the last 4 at MP but I pushed myself to work those lungs. Am I losing any endurance by doing this or does it seem like I have the endurance, just not peak fitness? should I do similar workouts for the rest of my long runs in Sept? PS -  the HR targets are from the book formula. I've never been had a test though to determine max HR.  Everyone else is invited to comment too

DTF - find out your max properly or its pointless to look at your HR data.

I'm under the assumption that running at MP will still build endurance because its still aerobic but its harder on the joints, muscles, etc... and you may not recover to run your next workout at its fullest effort because of that.  But I think its important to finish your LR's strong like you did today.  Nice Job

12.2 miles and week 1 of HMRT in the bank.  Avg pace of 8:55.  Hills and heat.  Went from 68 to 86 deg in the snap of a finger.  Uphill finish was a workout.  Finished the week with 36.5 miles.

Good morning!  Abs, 5 easy TM miles, and stretching at the gym.  This workout felt easier than the last Monday workout after a 16 mile LR.  Hope that bodes well.  I'm on the other side now as last week was my peak mileage week in the Hansons beginner plan.  Starting to get real...

Good to hear from you again, Simon.  You will notice that this thread is very quiet lately as the Donuts have opened a facebook page.  I dont know if you facebook much, but if you do, try to get on there.

I and some others continue to post on here all the time.

Welcome back Simon!