I tried...I REALLY tried to get up in the morning to run. I failed...I suck. When the kids are done eating I swear I will go out for a fiver.

Qotd: no. I barely keep track of mileage...actually...I do,t keep track of anything. I live in the moment I guess

 

 I am not sure I buy the low effort training model, especially for someone with limited time.

 

http://trailrunnermag.com/training/training-plans/1901-heart-rate-training-train-slow-race-fast

I understand the concept and think it has it's merits. However, I don't think it's foolproof.  For those of us who are older always keeping our HR as low as Maffetone wants it is very difficult especially on climbs. The only way to do that would be to stop often or avoid the hills.  If I would have used Maffetone's system for Mt Washington I never would have developed the leg strength to finish even the first mile. If I had the time I would have looked a little more in depth at his system to see if it ever includes developing the anaerobic system.  I know there are coaches out there that preach doing periods of LSD to develop the aerobic system, then switching to working on the anaerobic system.

For a beginner it's great, for a longtime rider or runner not so much in my opinion.

FWIW, as soon as I'm finished with my marathon in 12 days I'm looking forward to doing more long bike rides and taking it very easy on my runs.

Yeah, my limited experience didn't yield any stellar results and at the time I assumed that my aerobic system was strong and the weak link was leg strength. Not so sure anymore if that's true, but afterward I've kept more closely to a RA - 'Run a lot, mostly slow, sometimes fast' and have had good success with that so I guess I ended up at the right place. Based on my experience I don't think it's possible to get anywhere near max results with all low HR, but that moderate (like Lydiard comfortably hard) has been the most effective type of variation from it, with LT training a close second and full anaerobic reps not having an effect I can quantify as yet

 

I think it depends on what type of running/cycling you do. Generally, any typical racing cyclist could not do a Maffetone-type program in my view. The need to put in and cover attacks in a race means going deep into the pain cave, as they say. Of course, you need an excellent aerobic base and good efficiency to make sure you burn your matches when you need them.

If we are talking about ultramarathons or Ironman-type triatholon efforts, however, then some people can excel using a long slow distance approach. I still tend to think the notion that exercising in a "moderate range" of 80-90% of threshold as bringing the most adaptation and teaching your body to burn the most fat is most compelling.

Here are two quotes, one from an article on HR in ultramarathon cycling, and one from the infamous Dr. Ferrari on fat burning (the so-called lipid power) -- He argues essentially long tempo sessions at medium intensity are better than long slow distance since the highest quantity of fat is burned at this effort, rather than a higher percentage but lower quantity at low intensities.

Ferrari:

The lipid power is the absolute quantity of fats that muscles utilize as fuel for activity expressed in g/min.

If, instead of the percentage of utilized fats, we consider the absolute quantity of fats consumed per minute (the lipid power), we find that the higher value corresponds to intensities equal to 80-90% of the anaerobic threshold (within the range of Medio pace).
Such intensities generally correspond to lactic acid concentrations close to 2 mM/L.

Every cyclist should have the interest in improving his own lipid power: increasing fats consumption at medium intensities allows the rider to spare precious glycogen stores, saving them for the highest efforts or the final part of the race.
The maximum lipid power in well-trained athletes can reach values of 0.7-0.8 g/min, equal to 380-400 Kcal/hour.

Medium intensities are therefore crucial for a cyclist’s training, especially when focused on long endurance sessions, being the most effective in improving the muscular capacity to utilize fat amounts per minute.

Such intensities should be calibrated on the personal capabilities of the athlete, pointing out the great importance in checking lactate values at different intensities of effort through proper testing protocols.

From HR study:

"The HR responses in this study show that the cardiovascular strains of ultramarathon cycling are moderate with respect to the intensity, but enormous with respect to the duration of the exercise. The cardiovascular response of ultramarathon cycling lasting about 24 hours is characterized by a pronounced decline in HR (10% every 10 hours), suggesting that the ultraendurance threshold lies just below

70% of HRmax."