Low HR Training

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Experiment that failed.... (Read 261 times)


Wasatch Speedgoat

    I posted this on a larger ultrarunning list today and thought I'd share it here with my brutha's of low HR training.... I just experienced a dnf in a road marathon after trying an experiment of hills and speedwork for one year, it failed me and I am going back to what works best for me, many miles at a low HR! Long story short (you can read the longer version in the blog), in 2004 I adopted the Maffetone low HR training plan and never enjoyed running more. I was healthy, fit and running my ultras better than ever. Last year I even ran a 21 minute 5K at the age of 55 and a 1:40 half marathon, all on ridiculously slow running, but at maybe 70 mpw. Then when Deb and I moved back to NH, I started to race some road races for variety, then this past winter added hill repeats, then speedwork consisting of half miles one day on the track and a tempo run 3 days later. I did this most of the summer and ran that same 5K, still running it in 21+ minutes and only improved by 12 seconds... What! All that work! Shocked Then the next thing that happened is the old knee pain that took me out of road running and onto trails (Patella Tendonitis) started to make some noise. Oh, oh! This was an experiment that failed big time! Last year after all low HR training I ran a marathon in 3:45, qualifying for Boston on a hilly course, so I figured that this year I'd enter a much flatter marathon and do even better. I must, right?...I've been doing speedwork! Well, no....the plan was to go out at a quick, but comfortable pace and settled into an 8:30 pace, then eased slowly into an 8 mpm pace for about 10 miles (downhill section). About mile 15 I felt that familiar PT ache in my knee....By 18 it was hurting for sure...and by 20 (2:48 split) my leg wasn't functioning right because my knee couldn't bend completely. At 21 I took a turn that would bring me back to my car and home to hopefully save my knee for future trail ultras. Otherwise i felt in good shape, but the body failed me because I've been working it too hard! On the drive home, not really upset at all, I decided that all this hard work I had been doing didn't really improve my times much, I was on pace for about a 3:35-3:40 if I could continue, but I couldn't. Even my 5K times weren't coming down much, so I'm back on the low HR training from now on. When I did the LHRT, I was "never" injured! Yeah I may have a day a week where I work it a bit on some hilly trails, but I'm done with the hill repeats and track work because this is supposed to be for fun, not work and it was becoming work. I've taken all week off and if the knee is feeling better, today I'm going running and will be doing it very comfortable in the local reservation ;-) Smile Steve http://ultrastevep.blogspot.com/

    Life is short, play hard!

    C-R


      Sorry to hear about the DNF. I read a mag called Marathon & Beyond and one of my favorite sections is the one where runners describe their worst marathon and what they learned from it. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I'm relatively new to LHR (6+ months) but got here from injury. I won't go back to the other way of training. I run - lots for me - and am not fighting injury. Your story just reinforces this for me.


      "He conquers who endures" - Persius
      "Every workout should have a purpose. Every purpose should link back to achieving a training objective." - Spaniel

      http://ncstake.blogspot.com/

      BeeRunB


        That'll teach ya! :>) --Jimmy P.S. Having read lots of your stuff, including your entry in the great book "Breaking Through The Wall", pavement is not your friend, and neither is speedwork. Next time you forget, and lose track of who you are, and decide to retry this experiment, let me know, and I'll remind you. :>)


        Wasatch Speedgoat

          There once was a time....I could run 100+ mpw at 8mpm pace...and I could run anywhere from a 4:55 mile to a 2:48 marathon. This low HR training I've been doing a long, long time after reading Dr. Ernst Van Aaken's book back in 1980. It changed my life.... http://magstraining.tripod.com/Learning_From_The_Past.html#Ernst_Van_Aaken Who knows why we do what we do, life was full of fun on the slow trails and I thought I could return to the faster days, but what I forgot was I didn't get fast in those days from speed, but lotsa miles at a slow pace....yeah 8mpm pace seems fast now, but i was racing my marathon at sub 6:30 and it felt easy due to the many miles. Now I'm 28 years older and you would think wiser....I "am" wiser today than i was a week ago, so you can teach an old dog old tricks, you just need to get spanked once in awhile Wink Today was a fantastic play day with my dog, Tucker on some trails near my house....2.5 hours of sub MAF bliss Smile and the knee is already feeling better...I'm planning on another 3 hours with Deb tomorrow. Glad you liked the book, Jimmy! Steve

          Life is short, play hard!