And I keep on training …

It feels so good to get back into the groove of training.  For 5 months I haven’t been able to do anything, and I have been going crazy!!  It’s been fun watching my friends complete races, and see other people complete races.  I’ve been reading books and magazines about running.  I’ve watched the movie “Unbreakable: The Western States 100” at least a 100 times.  I’ve been waiting for the day to arrive that I can begin my training … and train I am.  I’m back into the groove and I keep on training.  So for this post I’m going to talk about my last few training days after my cross training, and I’m also going to talk about the shoes that I am hooked on.  But first, my training …

On Wednesday, I did a run/walk for 2 miles.  I did a 15 minute walk to warm up, then did 16 x 1 x 1 (16 reps, 1 minute run with 1 minute walk), then I did a 15 minute walk to cool down.

Thursday was a rest day.  Oh how good those days feel.  I know that I need to rest instead of pushing myself so that I don’t injure myself.  Sp rest I did.

Friday I did a run/walk for 3 miles.  I warmed up for 15 minutes with a walk, then did 24 x 1 x 1 (24 reps, 1 minute run with 1 minute walk), then I did a 15 minute walk as a cool down.

Saturday was a walk day.  So I walked for 2 miles.  Nothing hard, just a nice solid walk.

Sunday was another rest day.  It’s nice to spend those days with the family so that don’t feel so guilty about my training anymore.  More rest, and hopefully less injuries.

Monday was my first day in which I didn’t do the standard run/walk that I’ve been doing.  I did a 15 minute warm up by walking, then I did a 2 mile easy run.  By easy run, I mean that I kept my heart rate between 130 and 140 beats per minute.  When I’d exceed 140 beats, I’d either slow my pace, or walk until my HR was 134 or so.  Once the two miles were complete, I did a 15 minute walk as a cool down

Now for my favorite subject … Shoes!!  One of the things that runners have is a lot of shoes.  I can look around my office and I see pair after pair of shoes.  All kinds … I have Asics, New Balance, Brooks, Mizuno, Hoka’s … and my new favorite running shoe Altra!  You might be asking me why Altra?  Well, I really like the spacious toe box.  My toes splay out, and I have never felt more comfortable in a shoe.  And since the surgery, these shoes have given me the room that I needed so that I could heal.  It was like walking barefoot, but with shoes on.  My toes weren’t cramped, and they are finally starting to look normal.  Ok … As normal as runner toes can look.  I’ve also been wearing Injinji trail toe socks.  What I like about these is that they keep my toes separated, and it allows for a more natural splay in my shoes.

Am I saying that these are the best for you?  No … I think that everyone needs to find out what works best for them.  But I can tell you that Altra’s are the shoes for me!!

Love my ElliptiGo, so out I Go!

One of the greatest pieces of equipment that I bought when I had my knee surgery a couple of years ago was the ElliptiGo.  I bought it because I needed to find something that would supplement my running and take a lot of the pounding from off my knees.  I had been reading about it, and I saw that a few Professionals were using it to supplement their running.  I figured that if it was good enough for the Pros, then it was good enough for me.

When I got it, I was a little worried that I would have a hard time using it.  It seemed awkward to get on and to stop.  I have to admit, I still find it awkward for both.  You really have to concentrate to make sure that you don’t fall over when you stop at the stop signs.  Luckily for me, I only have three stop signs that I need to stop at before I one mile loop that I get to ride at Hampton Park.

Anyway, today was a cross training day, so I decided to break out the ElliptiGo and give it a spin.  I forgot just how hard it was, but I got in a solid 30+ minutes (I think it was just a little over 35 minutes) and was able to get in some fun cross training.  It’s really neat to see the looks, and to have people ask questions since it’s not something that is seen much here in Charleston.

My food intake is going well.  I had a treat last night in the form of Chocolate Cherry Chia Pudding.  I used everything but the sweetener, and I did not use that much cacao powder (I used one table spoon).  It was really good, and it was a great treat after a crazy day.

Time to do some catching up …

So far my comeback into running has been ok.  I’m not going to say that it’s great, but I’m also not going to say that it’s good.  I have noticed that once I run, I have been hungry!!  Not just hungry, but really hungry!!  To the point in which I can’t seem to eat enough food.  My go to has been trail mix … Not the best thing to eat, but better than some things.  But this week, I’m going to try something a little different.

I also said that I wanted to switch my rest days to Sunday.  That way I get to spend some more time with the family on Sundays and I’m not always out training.  I think that’s why I like running, although I incorporate other exercises into my routine.  Running gives me that flexibility … for the most part.  With Triathlon training I just didn’t seem to have that much flexibility unless I wanted to use all of my vacation time.

Anyway, my Saturday run consisted of a 15 minute walk, then I did 16 reps with 1 minute run and 1 minute walk.  I did a cool down walk back home.  Not big distance total, but it was 3.79 miles.  Sunday was an off day.  Again, I did that so that I could switch my off day to have my time with my family.  And today I did a 15 minute walk, then I did 24 reps with 1 minute run and 1 minute walk.  I did a cool down walk back home.  My total distance was 4.79 miles.  Not a lot, but a good total considering that I’m planning on doing the Space Coast Half Marathon the last week in November.  So I’m pretty happy … Remember, I just want to finish.  I don’t care about my time and I don’t care if I have to walk.

As far as my diet, I’m really going to buckle down for the next month.  I’m not going to starve myself, but I’m going to really focus on what I eat and really try to only eat those things that are good for me.  I will eat my fruits, veggies and meats.  I will stay away from anything that has added sugar.  I will eat some rice, but only as a treat and when I go eat Sushi!  But that’s later this month.  So for right now … It;s good, whole, clean food.

It’s not going to be easy …

I can say this much, it’s not going to be easy.  A 5 month lay off is hard to come back from.  I know that I will get there, but I have to have patience and not push the limits while I continue through the recovery process.  It’s also hard not to get disappointed.  I can’t run 2 miles steady, but I was able to run 30+ miles with no problems before.  It really takes a tole mentally.  Again, I can’t compare what I can do now with what I used to do.  It was the same when I was coming back from my knee surgery.  All of the PRs that I set prior to the knee surgery are not within my reach now.  My body can’t do what it used to do.  I just have to keep that in mind, build back up my fitness and soon I will be back at the higher mileage.

Anyway, on Thursday I warmed up for 15 minutes with a brisk walk. I then did 16 reps with 1 minute run and 1 minute walk.  I did a cool down of a 15 minute walk back to the house.  I felt better than I did the other day.  I just know that it will be a little while.

Today (Friday) I just went for a walk.  Nothing major.  It was just an easy stroll for about 50 minutes.  It was perfect because it was just what I needed since I was frustrated with work and I needed to get some fresh air.  Sometimes a walk is just what you need.

My diet has been mainly meats and veggies.  I’ve had a couple of eggs, some steak, backed cauliflower, roasted broccoli, squash casserole, and tomato pie (without the crust).  I’ve snaked on homemade trail mix.  But I know that I need to knock that one off.  It’s just that it’s a good comfort food and something that is easy to snack on.  But I think that this week will be my last week, and I will stock up on some fruit for next week.

I’m just going to keep trucking along, and do another run/walk session tomorrow, then a walk on Sunday.  I may shift my schedule so that I have Sunday as a rest day.  I like the idea of being able to have a rest day over the weekend so that I can get in more family time.  I’m so ready for the weekend?  How about you?

Cross Training

One of the things that I have learned is the importance of cross training.  As I get older (I’m now 51), my body can’t take the every day pounding that it used to.  I know that if I continue to pound it and pound it that I will end up with another injury.  So I know that I need to cross train.

There are a lot of things that I like to do to cross train.  I like yoga, using the TRX (for strength training), cycling, the ElliptiGo and my newest obsession … mountain biking.  I’ve never been mountain biking before, but since it’s something that I can do on the trails that I run on, why not!  So I went and bought me a 2014 Trek Fuel EX 8 29.  Granted, I have not been out on the trails yet (6 more weeks before that happens), but I have ridden it on oyster shell paths, on grass, etc and I’m in love.  It feels really good, and it ride so smooth.

Here is my bike …

I know … Pretty sweet!!  Anyway, like I said I know that I need to cross train, so today was 30 minutes on the mountain bike riding the oyster shell path and also through some grassy areas.  Total time was 45 minutes, but there was a warm up and a cool down before the actual workout began.  It felt pretty darn good to be out there, and since it was pretty hot (91 degrees), I knew that I’d get a good little workout in.

Today for food is a little different than normal.  I had three eggs and country ham for breakfast.  Not sure what I will have for lunch yet, but I know that I will have rib eye steak, just like loaded baked potato (cauliflower), and bacon broccoli.  I’m not real hungry for lunch, so I may just have some fruit or something to eat.  If I’m not hungry, I’m not going to push it.

As far as being an older athlete, one of the best blog posts that I ever read was one by Joe Friel.  He wrote a whole series on aging that you can find starting in June 2013 on his blog (www.joefrielsblog.com).  It was by far one of the best series that I have ever read on aging and the older athlete.  Needless to say, I will be putting a lot of this into use as I begin to ramp up my training to conquer my first 100 mile trail race.

I hope you are enjoying and I will write more tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

UGH!! Day 1 of my come back …

I knew that it was going to be hard.  I’ve only been able to walk for the past three weeks, and it’s been 5 months since I tore the tendon.  But I didn’t know that it was going to be this rough!! UGH!!

It probably also doesn’t help that the temperature is in the lower 90’s and the humidity is pretty high.  I was SOAKED!!  I will say that I did it, and that’s what counts.

Since I know that this is going to be tough, I’m doing a walk/run for the first few weeks.  I’m trying to keep my heart rate low, and I realize that I need to rebuild my base.  I know that I have no base fitness, so I need to start from scratch.

First, I’m a huge believer in a fasted run if it’s nothing to intense and to long.  Since I knew that I was only going to run 2 miles with a walk/run and a warm-up and cool down that consisted of a walk, I know that I don’t need to fuel for that.  I have plenty of fuel to support this effort.

My run consisted of a 15 minute walk.  I gradually increased my pace while walking so that when the 15 minutes were up, I was able to go into a slow jog.  I did not attempt to run fast since I know that I need to work on my base which is my zone 2.  I decided to do the next 2 miles using the Galloway method.  So what I did was jog for 1 minute, then walk for 1 minute.  I ended up doing over 2 miles, since I did the 1/1 for 16 reps.  Once the 16 reps ended, I walked back home for 15 minutes.  My total time was 1:02, and my total distance was 3.82 miles with a 16:15 average pace.  It’s going to be a long road back.

I wasn’t hungry when I got home, so I felt that there was no need to eat.  I eat a “real” food diet which means that I don’t eat anything that comes in a box.  In a nutshell, I eat foods that are minimally processed.  For example, I eat beef, pork, chicken, seafood, eggs, all veggies (I do limit potatoes), all veggies (again, I do limit tropical fruits since they are pretty high in sugar), and full fat dairy.

I had my favorite thing which is breakfast for lunch (or for dinner).  I had a veggie omelet (3 eggs, spinach, onions, mushrooms, tomato, and green pepper) and a pan cooked ham slice.  It hits the spot!!

For dinner, I plan on having roasted chicken (rosemary and lemon), along with a crust-less tomato pie.  I do like a snack at night, and it is usually seasonal fruit or nuts, or both.  And for those times when I want a real treat I will make my own “ice cream” which is just heavy cream and frozen berries blended in my Vitamix.

I’m going to continue to drink plenty of water today, and then get ready for my next day.  I’m sure that I will be able to do the Space Coast Half Marathon, but it’s going to be tough.  But I have this … Determination!!

It’s a new day …

I know that I’ve been absent from my blogging for a while.  And for that I apologize.  But it has been an interesting few months.

So of you may know, others may not, but I was training to run my first 100 mile ultra earlier this year (April 5th to be exact).  I was really excited, and training was going pretty well.  I had the usual aches and pains that go along with training to run that distance. Then on the 4th of March I was out for an easy run.  The top of my foot was sore, so I really worked on stretching it and not pushing it to hard.  I did some sprints in the grass, and was walking home.  I was about 2 blocks from my house, when I saw that the street sweepers were coming down my road.  The last thing I wanted was a ticket, so I started to run home, and then POP!!

I didn’t know what happened, but I limped home and managed to move the cars.  I went in the house and took off my socks and shoes only to notice that my big toe was floppy.  At that point I knew something was wrong.  Well, to make a long story short, I got a MRI, and my Dr told me that I had tore the extensor hallucis longus and that I needed surgery.  Needless to say, my quest for the 100 mile run ended.  The following week I was in for surgery!

Well, this is what my foot looked like 3 weeks after surgery.  I know … Not a pretty sight.  But the worse part is, no running, no nothing for 16 weeks!!  So what did I decide to do?  I decided to go ahead and get my shoulder fixed as well.  So yes, as soon as I was in the boot, which was 7 weeks after surgery, I went in for shoulder surgery.  Of course, it was worse than he expected, so the surgery took a little longer than expected, and it also meant that recovery would be longer.  Nothing like recovering from two surgeries at the same time.

So, what does that mean as far as training?  Well, it meant that all training came to a dead stop.  In fact, I was finally able to start walking the 18th of July!  But I was still in a sling, and still no running while my shoulder was healing.

Well, today is the day.  It’s the 11th of August, and I’m hoping that I will be released by my Dr this afternoon to begin running.  What did I do for celebration today?  I took my last long walk of 3.2 miles, and I’m ready to get back into it.

So what will you get from my blog?  I will be documenting my training and my diet as I begin to make my come back so that I can eventually run the 100 mile race.  I don’t have a time picked out yet that I will attempt the run again, but I will work on getting back my endurance and losing the weight that I gained while I was lazy for these few months.  I will say that as it stands right now, I only have two races scheduled.

My first race back will be the Space Coast Half Marathon on the 30th of November.  My only goal is to finish the race.  I have no time goal, and I will listen to my body to see how fast I will be able to run.  If I have to run/walk, then that’s what I will do.

The second race I have on my schedule is the Flying Pig Marathon the 3rd of May.  I intend to do a full marathon on that Sunday, as well as a 5K and 10K on that Saturday before the race.  Again, no time goals other than to finish the race, and begin training for an ultra at the end of the year (probably a 50K).

But this is what you will get.  You will get my training and my nutrition plan, along with how to do this while keeping your family happy.

Anyway, I hope that you enjoy the bog and that you keep coming back.

Heart Rate Zone 2 Primer – Part 3

This is Part 3 of a 3 Part Series.

In this series I have been discussing Zone 2 Heart Rate training.  In the first part, I discussed how to find your Zone 2 Heart rate.  This is extremely important if you want to succeed with the program.  You can’t make up a Zone 2 Heart Rate!!  Your Zone 2 Heart Rate maximum is calculated by the following formula: 180 – age = Max Zone 2 HR.  Yesterday I was listening to a podcast from Endurance Planet, and some guy was questioning his Zone 2 Heart Rate that his coach gave him.  He said that his coach told him not to exceed 150 bpm.  But he said that his “MAF” was 165!!  Well, based on that max heart rate, he would be 15 years old!!  Look folks, your Zone 2 Heart Rate is not something that you can make up.  It’s 180 – age … period!!

In part 2 of this series, I spent the time discussing the MAF test, as well as discussing cardiac drift. I don’t know about you, but I know that I want to see progress!!  Bottom line, if you follow the program you will see progress!!  Yes you start off slow.  But your starting off slow because you need to build your aerobic base!!  Patience … Follow the program and you will see a difference.  Anyway, part 2 talks about doing the MAF test so that you can see your progress as you are building your aerobic base.

Now for the meat of the program.  In this final part, I will include a program that I used to training for a half marathon.  You can adjust the time to train for a full marathon, but this program will teach you how to build your aerobic base.  This program does take into account that you can run for 1 hour in Zone 2 since that is where you will start off.  If you need to build up to this, there are 5K and 10K training programs that I have previously posted in the blog.

This program includes a 16 week aerobic base build, then an 8 week build, followed by a 2 week taper for a total of 26 weeks.  Yes … That means that I actually “run” two races a year even though I do more than that.

Weeks 1-5:

• Monday – strength training (on these days, I walk to the gym which is a 15 minute walk, then I spend about 40 minutes in the gym doing a full body exercises (squats, leg press, lunges, bench press, seated overhead press, pull ups)
• Tuesday – walk for 15 minutes, run 1 hour in zone 2, walk for 15 minutes
• Wednesday – strength training, cross training (swimming, biking, walking, etc) or rest day depending on how you feel
• Thursday – walk for 15 minutes, run for 1 hour in zone 2, walk for 15 minutes
• Friday –  strength training
• Saturday – walk for 15 minutes, run for 1 hour in zone 2, walk for 15 minutes (for subsequent weeks use the following times: 65, 70, 60, 75, and 80)
• Sunday – walk/run 1 hour in Zone 1 and Zone 2

Weeks 6 – 10:

• Monday – strength training
• Tuesday – walk for 15 minutes, run 1 hour and 15 minutes in zone 2, walk for 15 minutes
• Wednesday – strength training, cross training or rest day depending on how you feel
• Thursday – walk for 15 minutes, run for 1 hour in zone 2, walk for 15 minutes
• Friday –  strength training
• Saturday – walk for 15 minutes, run for 90 minutes in zone 2, walk for 15 minutes (for subsequent weeks use the following times: 75, 100, 110, 120 and 100)
• Sunday – walk/run 1 hour in Zone 1 and Zone 2

Weeks 11 – 16:

• Monday – strength training
• Tuesday – walk for 15 minutes, run 1 hour and 30 minutes in zone 2, walk for 15 minutes
• Wednesday – strength training, cross training or rest day depending on how you feel
• Thursday – walk for 15 minutes, run for 1 hour and 15 minutes in zone 2, walk for 15 minutes
• Friday –  strength training
• Saturday – walk for 15 minutes, run for 130 minutes in zone 2, walk for 15 minutes (for subsequent weeks increase time to 140, 150, 120, 165, and 180)
• Sunday – walk/run 1 hour in Zone 1 and Zone 2

Week 17:

• Monday – strength training
• Tuesday – walk for 15 minutes, run 1 hour and 30 minutes in zone 2, walk for 15 minutes
• Wednesday – strength training, cross training or rest day depending on how you feel
• Thursday – walk for 15 minutes, run for 1 hour and 15 minutes in zone 2, walk for 15 minutes
• Friday –  strength training
• Saturday – walk for 15 minutes, run for 130 minutes in zone 2, walk for 15 minutes (for subsequent weeks increase time to 140, 150, 120, 165, and 180)
• Sunday – walk/run 1 hour in Zone 1 and Zone 2

Week 18:

• Monday – strength training
• Tuesday – walk for 15 minutes, run 4.5 miles in Zone 2 and 1/2 miles in Zone 3, walk for 15 minutes
• Wednesday – strength training, cross training or rest day depending on how you feel
• Thursday – walk for 15 minutes, run 6 miles in Zone 3, walk for 15 minutes
• Friday –  strength training
• Saturday – walk/run 4.5 miles in Zone 1 and Zone 2
• Sunday – walk for 15 minutes, run for 7.5 miles in Zone 2, walk for 15 minutes

Week 19:

• Monday – strength training
• Tuesday – walk for 15 minutes, 4.5 miles in Zone 2, then 1 min Zone 4 with 1 min rest (repeat 6 times), walk for 15 minutes
• Wednesday – strength training, cross training or rest day depending on how you feel
• Thursday – walk for 15 minutes, run for 6 miles in Zone 3, walk for 15 minutes
• Friday –  strength training
• Saturday – walk/run 4 miles in Zone 1 and Zone 2
• Sunday – walk for 15 minutes, run for 9 miles in Zone 2, walk for 15 minutes

Week 20:

• Monday – strength training
• Tuesday – walk for 15 minutes, 5 miles in Zone 2, then two 4 min intervals in Zone 4 with 1 min rest, walk for 15 minutes
• Wednesday – strength training
• Thursday – walk for 15 minutes, run for 4.5  miles in Zone 3, run for 1 miles in Zone 4, then walk for 15 minutes
• Friday –  strength training
• Saturday – walk/run 4 miles in Zone 1 and Zone 2
• Sunday – walk for 15 minutes, run for 9 miles in Zone 2, then walk for 15 minutes

Week 21:

• Monday – strength training
• Tuesday – walk for 15 minutes, 6 miles in Zone 2, then two 6 min intervals in Zone 4 with 1 min rest, walk for 15 minutes
• Wednesday – walk/run for 3.5 miles in Zone 1 and Zone 2
• Thursday – walk for 15 minutes, run for 6 miles in Zone 3, then run 1 mile in Zone 4 and finish with a walk for 15 minutes
• Friday –  strength training
• Saturday – walk for 15 minutes, run 6 miles in Zone 2, then walk for 15 minutes
• Sunday – walk for 15 minutes, run for 9 miles in Zone 2 and then run for 3 miles in Zone 4, walk for 15 minutes

Week 22:

• Monday – strength training
• Tuesday – walk for 15 minutes, 7 miles in Zone 2, then 1 mile in Zone 4, then walk for 15 minutes
• Wednesday – walk/run for 3.5 miles in Zone 1 and Zone 2
• Thursday – strength training
• Friday –  walk for 15 minutes, 4.5 miles in Zone 2, then 1 mile in Zone 4, then walk for 15 minutes
• Saturday – cross training
• Sunday – walk for 15 minutes, run for 10.5 miles in Zone 2 and then run for 3 miles in Zone 4, walk for 15 minutes

Week 23:

• Monday – strength training
• Tuesday – walk for 15 minutes, 7.5 miles in Zone 2, then two 1/2 mile intervals in Zone 4 with 1 minute rest between each interval, then walk for 15 minutes
• Wednesday – walk/run for 4 miles in Zone 1 and Zone 2
• Thursday – walk for 15 minutes, 6 miles in Zone 2, then 1.5 miles in Zone 4, then walk for 15 minutes
• Friday –  strength training
• Saturday – cross training
• Sunday – walk for 15 minutes, run for 12 miles in Zone 2 and then run for 3 miles in Zone 4, walk for 15 minutes

Week 24:

• Monday – strength training
• Tuesday – walk for 15 minutes, 6 miles in Zone 2, then ten 1 minute intervals in Zone 4 with 1 minute rest between each interval, then walk for 15 minutes
• Wednesday – walk/run for 4 miles in Zone 1 and Zone 2
• Thursday – walk for 15 minutes, 6 miles in Zone 3, then 1.5 miles in Zone 4, then walk for 15 minutes
• Friday –  strength training
• Saturday – cross training
• Sunday – walk for 15 minutes, run for 9 miles in Zone 2 and then run for 3 miles in Zone 4, walk for 15 minutes

Week 25:

• Monday – strength training
• Tuesday – walk for 15 minutes, 5 miles in Zone 2, then two 1/2 mile intervals in Zone 4 with 1 minute rest between each interval, then walk for 15 minutes
• Wednesday – walk/run for 2 miles in Zone 1 and Zone 2
• Thursday – strength training
• Friday –  walk for 15 minutes, 4.5 miles in Zone 2, then 1 mile in Zone 3, then walk for 15 minutes
• Saturday – cross training
• Sunday – walk for 15 minutes, run for 6 miles in Zone 2 and then run for 1 mile in Zone 4, walk for 15 minutes

Week 26:

• Monday – rest
• Tuesday – walk for 15 minutes, 4.5 miles in Zone 2, then five 1 minute intervals in Zone 4 with 1 minute rest between each interval, then walk for 15 minutes
• Wednesday – rest
• Thursday – walk for 15 minutes, 3 miles in Zone 3, then five 1 minute intervals in Zone 3 with 1 minute rest between each interval, then walk for 15 minutes
• Friday –  rest
• Saturday – walk 15 minutes, the 1.5 miles in Zone 2, then walk for 15 minutes
• Sunday – RACE DAY!!

So that’s the plan … You can increase the times and the distances for longer races.  I also recommend that you take a week off once you complete your race.  I don’t mean sit on the couch and not do anything.  Just no running … Go out and walk.  I walked 1 hour a day for a week for my off week.  It was an enjoyable, stop and smell the roses walk.  Then you can start your build over again … Just increase the initial time from 60 minutes to 75 minutes.

If you have any questions on this Zone 2 Primer, please shoot me a comment and I will answer your question(s) as soon as I can.

Heart Rate Zone 2 Primer – Part Two

This is Part Two of a Three Part Series

In this part of the series I’m going to discuss the MAF Test.  This is the test that I perform, and what is recommended by Dr. Maffetone so that you can track your progress as you are building your aerobic base or see that you’re not making any progress (in which case there may be other issues).

So the MAF test is a 3 to 5 mile test in which you run at in your heart rate zone.  You will need to make sure that each mile is tracked so that you can not only track your individual miles and get your average, but you can also see your cardiac drift which is another indicator of a weak aerobic base.

Anyway, this is the way that you perform the MAF test.  Warm up for 15 minutes in your Zone 1 and Zone 2 range.  For me (180-50=130), that range is 110 – 130 beats per minute.  After I have warmed up for 15 minutes, I do five 1 mile laps making sure that I know what the time is for each mile.  I need that so that I can not only determine what my average pace, but mainly to see what my individual mile pace per mile is.  I want to see my progress.  Just like I said, in Part One, if you don’t see progress you won’t do the program.  The first one that I do is the “base” MAF test.  Then you will want to repeat the test every 6 to 8 weeks so that you can track your progress.

You may be wondering, what is “cardiac drift”?  Well, cardiac (or cardiovascular) drift refers to the natural increase in heart rate that occurs when running with little or no change in pace.  Many runners mistakenly assume that if they keep their runs at a consistent pace, their heart rate will remain relatively constant as well.  However, exercise research has shown that it is common to see heart rate “drift” upward during an easy run or threshold run, even with no increase in pace or effort, sometimes by as much as 10-20 beats per minute over a 30-minute period.  It is important to emphasize that cardiovascular drift results in an increased heart rate without a corresponding rise in effort, breathing rate, or calories burned.  In the example of the long run pictured in above, the athlete reported no changes in breathing rate or effort.

I’m not making any progress, why?  If you do the MAF test, and then 6 weeks later you do it again and you see no change, you are going to quit the program or wonder what went wrong.  If you’re like me, then you will wonder what went wrong.  If you are training, there is more than just exercise that is involved.  You have to look at your diet.  Have you started a diet?  Any changes in your diet?  Are you eating different foods? Are you not eating enough of the right foods?  Are you getting more caffeine in your diet? Yes, caffeine can affect your MAF test.  I always drink one cup of coffee before I go out to run.  I need the stimulate in the morning to get me going.  One morning I decided to drink 2 cups, and it really affected my heart rate.  I had a really tough time keeping it in range.  Caffeine can affect your range by 5 to 10 beats per minute.  My recommendation is to still stay within your range.

How’s the weather?  I started my program in January which is relatively comfortable.  It was in the upper 50s and lower 60s for a majority of my runs.  Needless to say, perfect weather for running.  Then summer hit.  And when I mean it, I mean all at once.  The heat and the humidity affected me, and I had to slow down my pace to get my heart rate into the proper range.  So yes, heat and humidity can affect your heart as well.  And like the caffeine issue, I still recommend that you stay within your range.

Stress!!  Yes, stress can also affect your heart rate.  Do you have financial issues?  Are you going through a breakup?  Are you under pressure at work?  All of these things can affect your heart rate.  And like with the previous issues, I recommend that you stay within your range.

And the last reason that I can think of is that you didn’t exercise in your range.  The pace was to slow and you let your mango (aka, male ego) get the best of you and you ran outside of your zone.  If you do this, it’s just not going to work.  You just need to keep your ego in check, and run in your zone. Soon enough you will be running faster than those people and you will be doing it with a heart rate that is in a more comfortable range.

I keep a pretty detailed training log because I like to see not only my progress, but I want to be able to go back and see what mistakes I may have made or I want to see what worked!  So in my training log I keep track of my stress level (1 – 10), what foods I eat, what the weather is like, how did I sleep, etc.  I know that it sounds like a lot, but there are a lot of factors that can affect your MAF test and your training.

And you may wonder why I recommend that you “stay within your range”?  Well, I recommend this because part of this training aspect is making sure that you don’t injure yourself.  Take it from someone who like to go from 0 to 100 as fast as possible, this is one of those in which it is better to slow down.  You need to build your aerobic base, make sure that your ligaments and tendons are strong, and that you have have good strength in your muscles.

In Part 3 of this Heart Zone 2 Primer, I will put in my training plan.  This is a full training plan that I have used in the past to train for a marathon.  It includes my base, my build and my taper for the race.

Heart Rate Zone 2 Primer – Part One

This is Part One of a Three Part Series on Zone 2 Heart Rate Training

I belong to a really great Facebook group call Vinnie Tortorich‘s No Sugar No Grains.  There are always some great discussion and the latest one was on Zone 2 Heart Rate training.  Personally, it’s a subject that I’m very interested in since I feel that a lot of runners run to fast on their slow days, and they don’t run fast enough on their fast days.  What that means is that the runners are always running around the same speed.  Don’t get me wrong, they may make some progress (especially those that are new to running), but that progress will come to a halt pretty quick.

Let me start out my saying that I’m not an expert.  I don’t have an Exercise and Psychology, or even any certifications.  And what I’m going to say is not anything that’s earth shattering or new and improved.  I will regurgitate what I have read from people that I follow, and I will also post one of my training plans.  This training plan is a 16 week training plan that I did for a half marathon that really focuses on Zone 2 Heart Rate training.  And I will also start out by telling you how I figured out my Zone 2.

I use the Maffetone method for determining my Zone 2 heart rate.  To do this you take 180 and subtract your age.  This gives you your maximum heart rate for training.  Your range is 10 beats below that number to that maximum heart rate.  Here’s an example on how to determine your Zone 2.  Let’s say my age is 40.  180 – 40 =140.  So 140 would be my maximum heart rate for training.  My range would be 130 – 140 beats per minute in order to build my aerobic base.

Now, according to Dr. Maffetone there are some exceptions to this.  For example, if you are a well seasoned athlete and have not had an injuries in the last few years, then you could add 5 beats per minute to that range.  Using the same example in the last paragraph, the range for this well seasoned, non-injured athlete would be 135 – 145.

Also, according to Dr. Maffetone if you have been recently injured (within the past year), then you would want to subtract 5 beats per minute.  Again using the example from 2 paragraphs ago, the range for this individual would be 125 – 135 beats per minute.

I had knee surgery about 18 months ago, so I’m doing my range which is 120 – 130.  I will tell you that when I first started my Zone 2 training that it was miserably slow.  In fact, I had to do a lot of walking to keep my heart rate in my range.  It was very frustrating and I hated the idea of “walking” during my running session.  But this made me realize that my aerobic base was terrible.  Why am I telling you this?  I’m letting you know this because you may have the same thing happen.  You may start out in your range, run a few steps and then be out of your range and have to walk.  Don’t be discouraged … It will get better.  I promise.  In fact, in the next paragraph I will show you my progress.

In my very first MAF test, I ran for 5 miles.  This was the time per mile: 15:47, 16:36, 17:25, 17:26, 17:43.  So that means that my average pace per mile was: 16:59.  Remember that I said it was slow and that I had to walk?  Well, there was a lot of walking and I was very frustrated.  But I was determined to focus on building my aerobic base.  So, after 8 weeks I tested again.  And this was my time per mile: 13:07, 13:24, 13:27, 13:44, 13:52.  So that means that my average pace per mile was: 13:30.  So that means that in a period of 8 weeks I was able to reduce my time by 3:29 per mile.  That means that I was able to increase my aerobic base.  After that last test, I started a 10 week program to build up to my next race.  But I did a good solid 8 week program.

Now I supposed you are wondering how did all of that translate into a race situation?  Like I said, I’ve been coming back from a knee injury, so it’s been a long road back.  But I have been feeling much better and have been able to train a lot harder.  So the race before I started my aerobic build, my finish time was 3:13:08 for a half marathon.  After working on my aerobic base for 8 weeks and then doing a 10 week build, my finish time for a half marathon was 2:38:56.  That means that I was able to take over 19 minutes off my time!  That’s not to shabby and I’m looking forward to starting my next aerobic build.  But I plan on doing my Zone 2 Heart Rate training for a little longer so that I can report on my next A race in December.

In Part Two of this Three Part Series I will go over the MAF Test since this is critical so that you can see your progress as you build your aerobic base.  Face it, if you don’t see any improvement you won’t keep it up.