Forums >Running 101>sub 20 min 5k
Barefoot and happy
One question, how do I really determine my heart rate zones? I mean at the moment I am going to want to find my easy hr zone, but what I now perceive as easy may not necessarily be easy according to my hr.
How have your race times changed during this time? Have you seen similar improvement in them? What sort of race are you aiming for?
Also, could you describe your running before switching to HR training? How long had you been running? Have you done anything else besides running with a low heart rate (e.g. more miles, more frequent quality sessions, greater daily consistency,...)?
Slow-smooth-fast
The most widely regarded formula I could find gives you your MAF (max aerobic function) heart rate. It's also called the 180 formula. See here: http://www.rrca.org/resources/articles/slowdown.html So according to that, my MAF is 154. So in low HR training, you always stay at or below that number. I decided to be conservative and so I actually target 145 in my runs, which gives me room for the inevitable spikes on stairs and such.
"I've been following Eddy's improvement over the last two years on this site, and it's been pretty dang solid. Sure the weekly mileage has been up and down, but over the long haul he's getting out the door and has turned himself into quite a runner. He's only now just figuring out his potential. Consistency in running is measured in years, not weeks. And over the last couple of years, Eddy's made great strides" Jeff 14 Jan 2009
Why is it sideways?
I am definitely more consistent now, with higher mileage. In that past I'd start to get injured and burned out if I increased to 40 miles per week. But at low intensity, it's easy, and I'm ready to build up toward 50 and maybe beyond.
Amazing stuff ed. I have just looked at the article, and I am dying to go out and try it.The only thing which concerns me is that in this period it would mean that all my workouts were at maximum aerobic hr, and that in turn means i would have to knock the track sessions on the head, the hill running, the fell running, the racing, the vo2 max training. All seems expensive?
how on earth do you run at that pace. A current fast walk for me is 14 minutes mile.Does it not feel so slow and forced that it is actually harder to maintain an almost unnatural rhythm, and do you actually walk up some hills if it means that you will stay inside of your hr, or do you run at them and then slow at top to get a sort of average overall? DO you always stay below it?
Is it the heart rate monitor or the mileage and consistency? You make a point here that I think Hadd emphasizes and that the Maffetone article skims over a bit. The reason to run at a low(er) HR is to be able to get more miles in. The steady volume of mileage works at the molecular and muscular level to increase capillaries and mitochondria, making you a more efficient and stronger runner. And you are able to run more volume because you are running it at an easier pace. The HRM is a messenger. The mileage is doing the work.
Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the number of moments that take our breath away...(unkown) • Go With The Flow • Thyroid Support Group
At this point I'm curious to see how fast I can get just by building a bigger base of easy miles.
Very well put, Jeff. I've never thought of it that way before and it makes a lot of sense. Question: I've always thought it was specifically long runs, 90 min + that had the bigger effect on increase in the number of mitochondria?
Question: I've always thought it was specifically long runs, 90 min + that had the bigger effect on increase in the number of mitochondria?
I don't know the answer to this. I do know that in training there's more than one way to skin a cat. Long runs are great, but one side effect of asking questions about the effects of specific workouts (like the long run or a set of intervals) is that we tend to tune in more to the effects of a single run on training. We always want to know: what will this single run or workout do for me? The answer, for any single run, is: not much. That answer is probably true for any single week of training. What does the work is the global training load--the accumulation of work at a variety of paces over a period of months and years. This is the perspective that the best coaches and athletes take.
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