One run is not going to hurt you or your ultimate progress. You can always experiiment with any idea. I felt the same way on Sunday, but reigned myself in and did aerobic intervals, which felt pretty fast with some intervals at 9:30 pace (if you look at my MAF log, you can see why that would feel like flying). It's a worthy experiment to keep aprox 90% of miles at or under MAF during the anaerobic and/or racing season. That once a week LT or intervals or race are pretty much all you need to stay sharp. Again, you can always play around with that number. If you continue with MAF tests every now and then, or keep track of certain aerobic runs that are the same every week, monitor how your aerobic system is doing. I know for me that just 3-4 months of racing, little MAF work, and doing most workouts over MAF, my MAF tests go in the toilet. That's what happened early this year to me. I had just made a 5k PR, and the week after the race, I just decided to give a full commitment to do the aerobic phase of MAF training until February. It's beginning to pay off, as i am dropping weight, my paces are getting faster, and I'm feeling pretty good. I have been chomping at the bit to do a race, but have held off, except for one occasion, but I kept that way under LT, and ran socially. It can be tough though, as racing is what I love and training all the time doesn't fulfill that. But I guess that is how you get to your potential and healthy. Once in awhile one has to rebuild, go through the dog days and reemerge a much better runner. It's time to do anaerobic running when the time you've committed to aerobic base is over. That could be any where from 8 weeks to a year. It's up to you. Maffetone talks about 2 base periods a year. One of at least 12-16 weeks, and another shorter one after spring race season and before fall (that would be a summer base period, Jimbo). So, do your thing. Always maintain an honest self-assessment, and do what you need when you need it. If you like racing, remember that is why you are doing this training. You aren't Maffing to just Maff. So get a few goals going! Mine is Vermont City Marathon! I just signed up. I'm so psyched! --Jimmy
Slow-smooth-fast
"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
keep it up until it levels out and you are not getting any faster. I am in my 4th week, and I have gone from 9:30 pace to just over 8m/mile pace. I will keep it going until i stop seeing improvements.
Jimmy, thanks for the reply. Honestly, I'm not sure that I'll continue to do any more anaerobic training, but wanted to understand my "options." I'm planning to resume my MAF training tomorrow morning. Honestly, the slow, monotonous pace just gets to me after a while. And I'm sure it gets to everyone when starting out with MAF. I can't say that I love to race, because I don't run too many of them. But, I can say that I enjoyed not worrying about the alert sounding this morning. My MAF pace is around a 12:00 minute mile, down from over 13:00 two months ago. Although I feel comfortable at my MAF pace, my body wants to go just a bit faster for a normal pace. So, holding myself back takes energy and feels weird. Don't get me wrong, I'm doing it and will continue. I have seen improvement in the 8 weeks. For example the run I did today would usually average around 168 BPM, today was 161. Again, note this is a course with some long medium grade hills. As for a goal, yes I have one. My first marathon is May 4th, 2008 - The Flying Pig. I'm really ready to begin training with my team again, and tackling the marathon. I just hope I can get down to an 11:30 or so soon so that someone on my team will stay with me. But, I'm sure they will. Thanks for the info!
Mark, I think you need to have a good whine (you get 3). Go ahead, let it out. It's okay. You are on a team? --Jimmy
Definitely a good recommendation. Mark Allen and Maffetone both mention this.
This may not work for everyone, but it's clearly working for me right now. Could it be that the formula doesn't work out exactly right for everyone? Maybe I just needed some faster stuff?
I think I've "heard" Jesse say in the past that sometimes you do need a few faster runs to kick start the process after a basebuilding period.
No, I don't need (or mean to) whine. I love running with my teammates, but if I'm too slow for them and they leave me, it's not going to be too much fun. Yes, I run with a fund raising team for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Very important to me since I have CF. We have a lot of fun and have a great coach. He's 68 and never run over a 4 hour marathon. Amazing. I'm really doing all of this to make it through my first full marathon in a decent time, at least for a first marathon. Thanks for the info. And, feel free to call me out if I'm whining. (I HATE it when my kids to it!)
That's amazing you are running with CF. This training will not only help you finish your first one, but it will increase the probability that you'll stay healthy until you get there. I remember watching that PBS special where they took epeople and trained them for the marathon. Half of them were injured, and all were running way too hard, you could hear it in their breathing. So, keep going! --Jimmy
run-easy-race-hard
Warm-up for 15 minutes getting to MAF-10 by the end. Then increase speed until your HR maxes out at MAF, hold for .25 miles. Then slow down for .25 miles letting HR go down to MAF-10 again. Do 4-8 reps of this. (These can be found in Training For Endurance).