I don't know how many of you have noticed, but the creator of this forum mentions "Hadd" on the home page of the forum as being part of the mix here. I have a copy of the original info and uploaded it for your perusal.
It has a good explanation of what someone is trying to do when working on the aerobic system and how important it is to endurance racing. There are some things in common with the Maffetone Method, but also some differences. This method's focus is about moving the lactate threshold by developing the aerobic system in a systematic way, not the anaerobic.
Just thought I'd keep y'all aware of this. Maybe you'll get something from it. Enjoy.
Thanks jimmyb,
This is basically more or less the same approach that I transitioned to in preparation for my marathon next month. I apply it in my own way but pretty close to what Hadd is suggesting.
What led me to the MAF method in the first place was a few bloggers that were going crazy over the results they were seeing from it. Basically going from running 4+ hour marathons to sub-3 (wow!). In each case, there were MAF test reports that went from something like 9 minute miles all the way into the low 7's and high 6's in about a 6 month span. Unbelievable!
I wasn't experiencing anything near these results BUT I did see slow, mostly continuous improvement and I did find a lot of things that caused my MAF pace to get worse (most notably, 3 hour runs).
I did some further reading on those bloggers experiencing the amazing results and discovered something interesting. They had much lower maximum heart rates than I do. In other words, the MAF zone for them was exceeding 80% MaxHR which is still very easy running. Now that changes the game completely. Easy running at a fast pace that is slower than marathon pace.
If I interpret Hadd correctly, he is basically preaching the same thing that Maffetone is (more or less), only he isn't using an equation. Instead, it's based off of MaxHR. Am I generally correct in this statement? They both strongly encourage base building before any anaerobic work whatsoever and both encourage anaerobic work once your aerobic base is SUPER solid.
It does seem to me that if your goal is to race faster, then running at a percentage of MaxHR over proper duration is probably going to get you there in less time than relying on an equation. If development of the energy delivery system (mitochondria, capillary, myoglobin, etc) is more pronounced at a certain effort level then it is going to be a function of MaxHR. Perhaps the bloggers I'm referring to just got lucky and their calculated MAF HR just happens to fall right in the Goldilocks Zone for development of the aerobic engine.
One thing that I do find curious about Hadd though is why his test has you go anaerobic in the last interval. Maffetone makes sure that you never do. I do suspect that Hadd's test is probably a much more accurate race predictor considering races are typically run at an HR percentage of Max similar among the population (i.e. 88% avg for the full marathon)
Having said all that, I've found I'm a much better runner today than I was before starting the MAF / Hadd method. I suspect both methods work very well. I now feel like I'm the most relaxed person there on the group runs I go on. I can't believe how much I've learned from this forum and how much I find myself rooting for everyone who posts here. Glad to see Hadd Training getting some love.
If you look at Van Aaken, Maffetone, Hadd and Parker (HR Training for The Compleat Idiot), they all have you doing the bulk of your volume aprox. 70-75% MHR and below. My MAF is around 71% MHR (MAF is 141, my MHR is 199 bpm). Hadd's everyday running HR for 193 and above is 145bpm. There are some who have low MHR's, though some think they do because they used a formula instead of testing properly. Even Hadd's MHR test fell way short for me. Not enough warm-up. Races are an excellent way to get one's MHR, because of the "warm-up" at a fast pace before the final push.
The low-MHR and its relationship to the 180-forumla has been addressed before in this forum somewhere, and I think by Maffetone somewhere. I'll look around see what I can find.
The key is to train at a pace where one is burning a lot more fat than sugar. One shouldn't be breathing hard. For most people the 180-formula with its adjustments will keep them at or below their real MAF (if they were tested and found the deflection point), and using almost all slow twitch red fibers during the run, and past a certain level of exhaustion recruiting some of the anaerobic fibers that can behave more aerobically and giving them some work (turning them to the aerobic side of themselves).
If one is seeing progress at MAF, then the LT pace will improve as well.
The HR during the 2400 test that HADD uses for a marathon pace indicator is pretty spot on, as I was using a very similar HR for my own MRP indicator runs. I could rely on the pace as an indicator only if my MAF pace had improved also. One time, my MRP indicator pace was fine, but my MAF speed had regressed and plateaued. I ignored the regression and hit the wall at mile 16. For me, it's always whether or not the MAF speed is improving. My best marathon coincided with my best MAF speed.
Instead of a 2400 test and the near MHR it reaches, one can just keep track of one's aerobic speed (MAF) and see how the they match up to different race performances. Add in some other indicators like pace at a MRP heart rate tempo run, and tune-up races (5k, 10k, half-marathon) and one can easily ball-park a marathon race pace that'll work. I'm not sure why Had structured the test that way, but he himself mentions that the 170 bpm HR was the most important for "Joe", although I think the 145 bpm was probably more important. If that number improves greatly then you can be 100% sure that the LT has moved in a positive direction.
Keeping stats on one's self is the most important thing. My 9:00 pace at MAF might equate to a 3:30 pace every time for me, but might equate to a 3:40 for you.
Observing one's physical cues at different intensities. What does your breath do when you reach MAF? Exceed it? As you reach near MRP heart rate?
We can learn so much.
Yes, I've noticed there are a lot of different opinions on what zone is best to train in. The answer is probably the same as how many licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Pop. I guess if we really knew the answer, then we'd all be doing it.
All I know is, if the bloggers that I read were to be believed, they were running closer to 80-82% MaxHR and absolutely killing it on their MAF test progression. But there could be a number of other reasons for that too.
I shouldn't be complaining because my speed at all heart rates is dramatically higher than it was in December and all thanks to you guys. My MAF heart rate is now 145 because I just turned 40 (180-40+5 for 2 years of good health). This happens to be about 74% MaxHR for me. Based on the sticky at the top of this forum and other methods I keep coming up with 195 for MaxHR. I haven't done a Hadd test and I haven't done an MAF test in a long time but the improvement is obvious. I was running about 9:45-10:20 miles in December at MAF and this weekend I capped off a new personal record in mileage for a week (80.2 miles) with a long run at MAF (145 bpm) at a 7:39 average pace. I'd say that's pretty dramatic. So, I'll keep on keeping on and see what happens.
To answer some of your questions:
Hi SD_BlackHills,
Your MAF and starting pace are very similar to mine. I've been at it now for 2.5 months now and have got down to 5'30min/km (8'48 min/mi). Currently do about 37mi per week aswell as some cycling. My question is what sort of progression did you see in your pace over the five months from when you started? i.e each month what pace did you achieve and by ho much did you increase weekly mileage. Did you make any changes to diet ? be keen to hear more on your experience and progress to the improved pace. I would love to hit under 8min/mi after 5 months. I have done a marathon in the past in 3hr 5mins but my pace at MAF even then wouldve been terrible.
Hi SD_BlackHills, Your MAF and starting pace are very similar to mine. I've been at it now for 2.5 months now and have got down to 5'30min/km (8'48 min/mi). Currently do about 37mi per week aswell as some cycling. My question is what sort of progression did you see in your pace over the five months from when you started? i.e each month what pace did you achieve and by ho much did you increase weekly mileage. Did you make any changes to diet ? be keen to hear more on your experience and progress to the improved pace. I would love to hit under 8min/mi after 5 months. I have done a marathon in the past in 3hr 5mins but my pace at MAF even then wouldve been terrible.
Hi Fenix18 -
First off, I think it's very important to not used age based equations to test HR vs Pace. Hadd recommends doing a MaxHR test by running 800m at a track all out. Rest for about 30 seconds or so, then run a 400m all out. Highest number recorded on HRM is within a few beats of MaxHR. If you use a test based on MaxHR rather than age, you can reliably predict expected race performance in the marathon or half marathon and pace yourself accordingly.
Also, using an age based equation to compare 2 different runners won't tell you much about who is progressing more quickly. MAF for me might be 74% MaxHR and for another person it might be closer to 80% MaxHR. The person with the lower MaxHR will be running MUCH harder to reach MAF HR.
However, in my first 5 months, I wasn't doing the Hadd Test nor regular MAF tests. Therefore, it's difficult to tell for sure how I was doing at "MAF" HR as I didn't do a whole lot of running at that heart rate continuously over that time span. I did almost all of it under that heart rate once it was under 9 minutes a mile. However, I will try and guess at what my progress was just for fun .
I'm pretty sure that my pace after about 2.5 months is nearly identical to yours. I think it was probably about 8:50 per mile. At about 5 months, I think it was probably about 7:45. Granted, I did almost no running at 7:45 pace. I was increasing my mileage quite a bit at the time into the high 60's to mid 70's, peaking at 80 miles in a week. I did a vast majority of mileage at about 8:45 to 9:00 per mile if I remember correctly. At 6 months I ran a marathon and split 6:25 to 6:45 on every mile up until 18 at which point I had severe issues caused by fueling and ended up stopping and squatting multiple times for several minutes. (By the way, it's hard to race after squatting even once!). Ended up running 3:06. Don't be discouraged by that time as it was the last time I failed to comfortably break 3 hours in the marathon and I should have on that day with proper fueling.
As to your question about diet, yes I did change it. I would do my morning runs completely fasted. In other words, the last food I ate was the night before, whatever time that ended up being. I might drink a bit of water before my morning run but stopped bringing water along. I can do this because it's not hot/humid in the early mornings here. As soon as practical after my run, I would have 2 eggs and a glass of chocolate milk. The idea was to get protein asap. Other than that though? I changed nothing else about my diet. Still eat hamburgers, pizza, drink beer, whatever I want. I do cut the crap food and beer out a few weeks before a race though just to cut my belly fat down to aid my race performance.
My guess is, if you already ran a marathon in 3:05 with an MAF probably around 10 minutes per mile and less than 50 miles per week, that if you keep this low HR training up, you will be WELL under 3 hours in your future races unless it's a really difficult course or the weather is really terrible. My guess is, you could enter a marathon today and run Sub 3.
Good luck!!
Firstly thanks heaps for replying and for the very detailed response...its much appreciated!. It is nice to know that my patience and persistence with this low heart rate method is not in vain. Based on your paces etc we do seem very much alike so it helps knowing what sort of progress i might expect. I don't plan on doing any marathons or events but enjoy running and want to do it a way that is good for my health more than anything. However, as much as i run for enjoyment i also like to see progress in performance etc.
Since the last two weeks i have been able to keep my avg heart rate for all runs under 141bpm but my avg pace at this heart rate is 9:12 per mile. So, still got lots of room for improvement but i guess i also need to try push my mileage to 50miles per week to reap the benefits. I wouldn't have an issue doing 50mi per week but due to cycling i'm limited to 35mi at the moment. Only in the last two weeks have i done any runs above 11km so hopefully with longer runs 15km-20km i seem more progress.
In terms of diet for the last 3 months i've move to lower carb approach. I ate ate healthy prior to this but also ate a lot of junk. My diet prior to the lower-carb was lots of potatoes, rice and fruits. I've cut all artifical foods out and limit my carbs (not strict) to about 100-150g per day. When i first changed diet my pace was terrible for 2 weeks but slowly improved. I'm planning on doing a VO2 test next month, more to determine my RQ - fat burning zone. My brother has a contact who can set this up for me for no charge so may aswell take advantage of it. I'll be happy to post my result once done. Years ago i did one and i was basically a carb burner!
Anyhow, i'll post my progress in a months time again and best of luck with your training aswell!
Cheers!
Hi SD_BlackHills, Firstly thanks heaps for replying and for the very detailed response...its much appreciated!. It is nice to know that my patience and persistence with this low heart rate method is not in vain. Based on your paces etc we do seem very much alike so it helps knowing what sort of progress i might expect. I don't plan on doing any marathons or events but enjoy running and want to do it a way that is good for my health more than anything. However, as much as i run for enjoyment i also like to see progress in performance etc. Since the last two weeks i have been able to keep my avg heart rate for all runs under 141bpm but my avg pace at this heart rate is 9:12 per mile. So, still got lots of room for improvement but i guess i also need to try push my mileage to 50miles per week to reap the benefits. I wouldn't have an issue doing 50mi per week but due to cycling i'm limited to 35mi at the moment. Only in the last two weeks have i done any runs above 11km so hopefully with longer runs 15km-20km i seem more progress. In terms of diet for the last 3 months i've move to lower carb approach. I ate ate healthy prior to this but also ate a lot of junk. My diet prior to the lower-carb was lots of potatoes, rice and fruits. I've cut all artifical foods out and limit my carbs (not strict) to about 100-150g per day. When i first changed diet my pace was terrible for 2 weeks but slowly improved. I'm planning on doing a VO2 test next month, more to determine my RQ - fat burning zone. My brother has a contact who can set this up for me for no charge so may aswell take advantage of it. I'll be happy to post my result once done. Years ago i did one and i was basically a carb burner! Anyhow, i'll post my progress in a months time again and best of luck with your training aswell! Cheers!
Great approach! A free VO2 max test sounds awesome. I wish I could get one of those.
9:12 per mile is not a bad pace at all. Currently, if I run at that pace, my heart rate will be about 120. I've had some runs where I've just gone out super easy without looking at my watch and will end up with something like a 115 bpm at 9:45 pace. It feels crazy when you see those numbers when looking back at the first months of Low HR training.
I do remember another challenge that I ran into early on that I should share. Accuracy of HRM was an issue. I was using the HRM built into my watch. I would run into one of the following 3 issues that messed with my training. You may or may not run into these:
Ok, so those 3 issues were super annoying to me. My solution was to get a better HRM. From what I can tell, all of the HRM's integrated into watches just flat out suck and cannot be fully trusted. They are correct most of the time but not all of the time. This is from looking at results of my friends using various watches from the cheap ones all the way up to the Fenix 5. I tried a chest strap and ran into the problem of really crappy readings early during warmups due to difficulty keeping the contacts wet. I then read some reviews online from DC Rainmaker and settled on the Scosche RHYTHM+ armband for like 70 bucks. It's comfortable, looks cool and all 3 of the issues I list above disappeared overnight. The reason I share this is, if you are micromanaging your pace to your HRM readout, then you definitely want a fairly accurate and responsive reading.
Another thing I should probably mention is that my biggest gains came once I got my mileage up to about 70 miles per week. Since you are doing the bike, you can probably just figure out the equivalence of 70 miles running in terms of time running plus time biking and get the same type of improvement rate. I never do anything super long in one day. 2 hours 15 minutes is pretty much my max. Typical day might be 90 minutes plus or minus 10. Another factor is that your diet is WAY better than mine. You just might see your pace shoot way past mine by the 5 month mark for that reason alone! I love your focus on health. That is an awesome way to look at it!
Again thanks for the very informative response!
The last week or so my pace has dropped off slightly as I approach nearly 3 months of maf. When you approached low heart training when did you re-introduce tempo runs /intervals etc back into your weekly runs?
The weather is getting warmer here and had at times a bit of humidity and these will slow the pace and I know this can't be avoided and just need to stick to the zones. I I'd a 10k five weeks back at 8.5mins/mi and since then have drifted backwards to just over 9mins/mi. So, bit confused about the regression..
Hi SD_BlackHills, Again thanks for the very informative response! The last week or so my pace has dropped off slightly as I approach nearly 3 months of maf. When you approached low heart training when did you re-introduce tempo runs /intervals etc back into your weekly runs? The weather is getting warmer here and had at times a bit of humidity and these will slow the pace and I know this can't be avoided and just need to stick to the zones. I I'd a 10k five weeks back at 8.5mins/mi and since then have drifted backwards to just over 9mins/mi. So, bit confused about the regression..
I wouldn't worry about Pace to HR dropping off slightly from time to time. That's normal. There are a lot of factors that effect your HR other than just your running effort and in my experience it seems more pronounced at sub-maximal efforts. I bet if you did like a 20 minute run at HR-Marathon or HR-Threshold that you would be slightly faster than say 4 weeks ago at the same HR. I think that going from 8:30 to 9:00 pace at sub-maximal HR's is totally expected in increased temperature and humidity. In fact, it would be super weird if that didn't happen.
I just looked back at my old logs to see when I re-introduced speedwork. What I found made me laugh. I found records of me basically constantly fighting those 3 issues I highlighted in my last response before I figured out that I just needed my HR armband. I also saw that I started doing tempo runs in the 4th month. I didn't record any notes as to why I suddenly decided to start them up at that point in time. It looks like I did a lot of stuff like, 90 minutes with 75 minutes at 80-83% MaxHR. Or 90 minutes with 60 minutes at HR-Marathon (87-88% MaxHR). I somehow managed to do stuff like this once or twice a week. So even my speedwork was really sub-threshold and paced by HR as a percentage of MaxHR. I never really did intervals for better or for worse in this cycle. Even now, the only time I run that hard is to double check my MaxHR or during a Fartlek and then it's not for a determined distance.
Honestly, I think that some speedwork will stimulate your progress. I would just be careful to not do too much of it. It will accelerate the raising of your lactate threshold. And when that happens the easy runs become even easier. Therefore your paces at MAF improve without a change in perceived effort.
Hi SD,
Hope your well.
Just thought i'd update on my progress with the MAF method. Its been about 6 months now that i've been doing all runs at MAF (sometimes go slightly over) and averaging about 50km/ week (31 mi) as I have been cycling about 80mi per week aswell. As i mentioned last time i've also switched to a more high fat diet with about 20% of calories coming from carbs. I've lost about 13lbs which i didn't need to lose but did even though i was eating plenty. My maf pace still isnt quite where it should when compared to the 5k i did the other day but it definitely is coming down slowly. Maf pace is 8'31 min/mi for a 10km run currently with avg. heart rate of 141bpm (maf heart rate is 143bpm). With the 5k i ran 18'48 (average heart rate 183bpm, max was 194bpm, my absolute max is 197bpm). The 5k is the first 'fast' run i have done in 6 months and last year at this time i ran 5k in 18'55 and that was with a lot more intervals and cycling than i've currently been doing. So, i think its all positive considering that with the 5k i was thinking of leaving for another day as i didn't feel fully refreshed so i think i have a bit more room for improvement. My first 1km split was 3'53 and by the last two kms it was 3'41 and 3'32 respectively. I haven't done a proper maf test in some time but have scheduled one in for monday next week. I also plan to do another 5k in 2 weeks time with a bit more rest leading up it. Now that the temp in the mornings is dropping i am seeing my pace improve aswell, so thats good.
Btw how's your running going?
Hi SD, Hope your well. Just thought i'd update on my progress with the MAF method. Its been about 6 months now that i've been doing all runs at MAF (sometimes go slightly over) and averaging about 50km/ week (31 mi) as I have been cycling about 80mi per week aswell. As i mentioned last time i've also switched to a more high fat diet with about 20% of calories coming from carbs. I've lost about 13lbs which i didn't need to lose but did even though i was eating plenty. My maf pace still isnt quite where it should when compared to the 5k i did the other day but it definitely is coming down slowly. Maf pace is 8'31 min/mi for a 10km run currently with avg. heart rate of 141bpm (maf heart rate is 143bpm). With the 5k i ran 18'48 (average heart rate 183bpm, max was 194bpm, my absolute max is 197bpm). The 5k is the first 'fast' run i have done in 6 months and last year at this time i ran 5k in 18'55 and that was with a lot more intervals and cycling than i've currently been doing. So, i think its all positive considering that with the 5k i was thinking of leaving for another day as i didn't feel fully refreshed so i think i have a bit more room for improvement. My first 1km split was 3'53 and by the last two kms it was 3'41 and 3'32 respectively. I haven't done a proper maf test in some time but have scheduled one in for monday next week. I also plan to do another 5k in 2 weeks time with a bit more rest leading up it. Now that the temp in the mornings is dropping i am seeing my pace improve aswell, so thats good. Btw how's your running going?
Wow, GREAT 5K!!! That's awesome! Running in the 18's is very, very good!!! Obviously something is working so I would keep at it if I were you. I think you are one of the lucky ones in that your MAF heart rate happens to be in a very, very good zone for everyday running (about 73% MaxHR). Almost all of my running is done just below that.
I'm currently back to Hadd's Phase 1 because my aerobic base could use a lot of improvement. I started this about 4 weeks ago. I'm fairly loosely following this schedule based on my interpretation of Hadd's document describing low heart rate, base training:
Monday - 90 min @ 70 - 75% MaxHR or lower
Tuesday - 60 min @ 70 - 75% MaxHR with 12 Alactic Sprints spaced 3 minutes apart
Wednesday - 90 min @ 70 - 75% MaxHR or lower
Thursday - 60 min or 10 miles @ SubLT currently 82-83% MaxHR
Friday - 90 min @ 70 - 75% MaxHR or lower
Saturday - 2 to 2.5 hours at 70 - 80% MaxHR
Sunday - 60 min or 10 miles @ SubLT currently 82-83% MaxHR
The key workouts are the SubLT runs. The idea from Hadd's document is the 60 minutes or 10 miles should not feel too aerobically challenging and you should finish them feeling as if you could continue at that effort for a long time. If your pace drops too much then you need to continue to work in that zone for several more weeks or months. Once you are steady and stable (HR to pace has little to no drift), then you increase the SubLT range to 83-85% MaxHR. Rinse and repeat. Once you graduate from that you move up to 85-88% MaxHR . And finally 88-90% MaxHR. Once your HR to pace ratio is stable over that final range, then he considers your aerobic base to be solid.
Currently my pace on the easy days is somewhere between 7:20 and 7:40, typically. I'm covering the Saturday long run in just over 20 miles. No HR drift until about 2 hours and 5 minutes or so. The SubLT runs are feeling pretty smooth as well. I will be stuck in the 82-83% range for a lonnnng time. No issues there feeling aerobically challenged at all but my pace is slowing down over the course of the 10 miles to maintain the HR with my current fitness. Basically in the low 6:20's early and high 6:30's late, averaging about 6:30 pace for the 10 miles.
So clearly there is a LOT of aerobic fitness yet to be gained if I stick with it.
I'd say your base pace is pretty good! I look forward to being able to run sub 8min/mi for my easy runs. By the sounds of your training i think you're doing quite well and i do like the HAAD approach. I've read it before and i was thinking of following the HAAD method for a while now that i've been doing MAF for quite a while. I'm still unsure why i haven't seen greater improvements in my MAF pace but its a patience game i guess. Some might see results sooner than others so thats fine. I probably really need to do more longer runs but the cycling makes it difficult for time. I'm trying to find a lab where i can get my % fat tested while running so i can know a more accurate heart rate to aim for. I feel i breathe easy through the nose up to 150bpm so not sure if i need to raise my maf heart rate. i might do so for a few weeks (148bpm max) and see if there is any benefit and if not i'll return to 143bpm. Your 10mi runs at 6'20 to 6'30's is a great pace and if you are feeling good after the runs i'd say your definitely on the right path.
I've also started throwing in 50m hill sprints (x8-10 repeats) with 45s rest to get the legs moving again which i enjoy doing-tough and short but believe it helps with efficiency.
Anyhow, look forward to hearing about your progress in the near future. I'll update again in a couple weeks time once i've done another 5km and a maf test.
Enjoy the weekend run!
Hi SD, I'd say your base pace is pretty good! I look forward to being able to run sub 8min/mi for my easy runs. By the sounds of your training i think you're doing quite well and i do like the HAAD approach. I've read it before and i was thinking of following the HAAD method for a while now that i've been doing MAF for quite a while. I'm still unsure why i haven't seen greater improvements in my MAF pace but its a patience game i guess. Some might see results sooner than others so thats fine. I probably really need to do more longer runs but the cycling makes it difficult for time. I'm trying to find a lab where i can get my % fat tested while running so i can know a more accurate heart rate to aim for. I feel i breathe easy through the nose up to 150bpm so not sure if i need to raise my maf heart rate. i might do so for a few weeks (148bpm max) and see if there is any benefit and if not i'll return to 143bpm. Your 10mi runs at 6'20 to 6'30's is a great pace and if you are feeling good after the runs i'd say your definitely on the right path. I've also started throwing in 50m hill sprints (x8-10 repeats) with 45s rest to get the legs moving again which i enjoy doing-tough and short but believe it helps with efficiency. Anyhow, look forward to hearing about your progress in the near future. I'll update again in a couple weeks time once i've done another 5km and a maf test. Enjoy the weekend run!
Thanks! It's good that you're doing the hill sprints. That really helps keep your top end speed and generates very little lactate. My guess is that you're not even starting to breathe heavy keeping them short enough.
There are a couple of things you could do that I'm pretty sure would get you to very consistent 7: xx pace at MAF. Either getting your volume up to 50 miles per week (difficult to do with all the cross training, I know!) or doing long runs in excess of 2 hours or at least past the point where your pace starts to decrease at your HR target. The latter was something that Lydiard preached. The reason he stated was that it was the point where you go into glycogen depletion (so don't carb up or take carbs during the run). By doing so, it supposedly teaches the body to REALLY burn fat for fuel. And the better you are at that, the faster you will become at ALL HR's, not just MAF. I believe this is why Hadd's test was at 5 different HR's, in an effort to prove that (140, 150, 160, 170 and 180 bpm).
Hope this helps and I can't wait to hear your continued progress!
Thanks! It's good that you're doing the hill sprints. That really helps keep your top end speed and generates very little lactate. My guess is that you're not even starting to breathe heavy keeping them short enough. There are a couple of things you could do that I'm pretty sure would get you to very consistent 7: xx pace at MAF. Either getting your volume up to 50 miles per week (difficult to do with all the cross training, I know!) or doing long runs in excess of 2 hours or at least past the point where your pace starts to decrease at your HR target. The latter was something that Lydiard preached. The reason he stated was that it was the point where you go into glycogen depletion (so don't carb up or take carbs during the run). By doing so, it supposedly teaches the body to REALLY burn fat for fuel. And the better you are at that, the faster you will become at ALL HR's, not just MAF. I believe this is why Hadd's test was at 5 different HR's, in an effort to prove that (140, 150, 160, 170 and 180 bpm). Hope this helps and I can't wait to hear your continued progress!
Hope your well!
So, i haven't done another MAF test as yet but did do another 5k run at the track and ran it in 18'24 which is the best i have ran since 2011 when I could do 18min flat. So, i'm pretty pleased with that. I definitely believe the change in diet has had a lot to do with the progress. Next week i have the metabolic testing scheduled so i will post the results of that. It will be good to know exactly where my fat burning zone is so i can base my easy runs on. I started doing the 16:8 intermittent fasting and find its quite easy and feeling really good! I'll post again end of next week once i get that test done.