Docster - sorry to hear about your hammie. Hope it gets better soon. I noticed that you did/do the Low HR training, is that right? I'm quasi trying that method, too, but I got very frustrated trying to keep my HR down. It seemed that I was walking all the time just to keep it from going too high, and that was when I was running slow already. It's probably not the best idea, but what I took from it was that I really need to run slower and build up my aerobic system. To this point, I have been able to keep my AHR for each run within 10 or so beats above what would be my MAF. Reading about your progress over the past 2 years or so gave me some incentive to try to run at MAF or lower today, and since it's a slow recovery run anyway, I think I'll give it a shot and see what happens. At the very least, maybe I can end a run with my AHR in the 140s.

Good stuff here. I have read the FAQ in the other thread, and I started in January with every intention of doing the LHR training. I just ran out of patience, which isn't good, I know. According to the calculations, my MAF was 143, which is 180-age plus 5 for being active. I grew increasingly frustrated because it felt like I was "run-walk, stop-go" and I couldn't get any rhythm in my runs. I stopped after 3 runs due to increasing knee pain and the fact that running wasn't fun that way. Now, here's what I did take from that experience. Most of my runs were too fast, and so I made an intentional effort to slow down and run at what felt comfortable. I still wore the HRM and the Garmin, but I stopped looking at it during the runs. Instead, I'd check the data once I got through and I was pleased to find that running by feel was keeping my HR in the low 150s. Not MAF, for sure, but a whole lot better than when I was running faster. Today, I went out and intentionally ran 3 miles at MAF and was pleasantly surprised by how good it felt and the increase in pace (not by much, maybe 15 sec/mile pace faster) I've gained. I didn't feel like a slave to the HR, and didn't fear the occasional spike above the MAF level. I simply slowed a bit, breathed a bit deeper, and continued while it leveled back out to 143 or lower. I'm still shy of my first year of running (I'll finish my first year in April), and in a lot of ways I feel like I'm still starting out. Speed will come in time. Aerobic strength and endurance must come first.