This summer I am committing to listening to my heart when I run. I have attempted to follow the MAFFTONE heart rate training method in the past, but quickly gave up when I was walking more than running. Apparently my aerobic endurance sucks (according to his book).
I love my polar heart rate monitors and decided to fully use their free training program on polarpersonaltrainer.com. I sync their 4 week (basic running plan) to my RC3 GPS watch and run 3-4 times a week. Running always with my heart rate monitor. Running while following the plan (even if it means walking to stay in the prescribed heart rate zone).
The boys have been in summer school all of June, and just celebrated their last day yesterday. This means that my summer running will have to get creative, again, as I juggle fitness with the boys in tow. Funny how quickly I forgot how to incorporate running and working out with the boys, when that was what I did everyday when we homeschooled back in California. Needless to say, I totally enjoyed the freedom of running solo the past few weeks.
Yesterday, I ran the gravel country road near my house. It was muggy and overcast (another storm rolling through). The road had rolling hills that had views of the growing corn fields. It was really pretty and peaceful.
I am finding that slowly but surely my heart is responding positively with this training. I am running faster and longer, recovering shorter, and making progress.
I think the hills are making me a stronger, faster runner. Hello 6 minute max pace (even if it was only for a few seconds, probably).
The above average and max pace included my warm up and cool down walks (and mid-run selfies Ha!)
Can we just marvel at how nice my nails look!? Ha! I splurged and got a gel polish manicure this week and love how fresh and girly it makes me feel.
I am working on my running index. It is weird because some days it is much higher than today’s run. I don’t know if it was because of the heat or hills… or because yesterday was leg day. It is something I am watching and working to improve as time goes on.
The weird thing is is that I see a higher running index when I power walk my entire ‘run’ versus running it. Weird, I know. Again… training my heart to work smarter not harder so I can run faster not harder in the future.
My interval training run was over when I was about 1.5 miles from my house. So I enjoyed the recovery power walk home to finish out 6 miles for the day.
This heart rate training requires patience. It is totally humbling me. I want to continue to share my journey here to keep me honest and accountable for this journey. I am a work in progress… and I firmly believe that this will help me be a better runner. Slow and steady.
I did HR training a couple summers ago to help acclimate to the heat. It helped me a lot–I learned how to better pace myself to keep my HR in my target zone. I don’t think I could ever do MAF training–it is just too slow for me. I’ve had pretty good results with speedwork and paced runs, and I’m going to stick with that.
I like the Mafftone method too. I get so lazy about using my HRM though. Thanks for the nudge!
I’ve tried to hr train in the past and quickly gave up although I am sure I would really benefit from it. Right now I am enjoying just running and not even looking at pace or anything. If my watch ever said 6 mm I would think it was broken 🙂
I really need to look into more effective training methods where my running is concerned. It sounds like you are learning a lot from your training. I’m sure in the end you will be a stronger runner. Have a great weekend!
So interesting! I’ve never done heart rate training before, but the way you’re doing it makes perfect sense! Your running route looks so peaceful looking out over the fields. I enjoy running at my parent’s house in Indiana for that same view!
OMG you are amazing. I feel like this is something I should totally do but there is no way in hell I’d be that patient with the training. 🙁 Truthfully, I don’t think I have a very strong heart. I do think doing HIIT helped.
I’ve never done heart rate training. I have a monitor that I used to wear to track calorie burn, but on one long run, it cut into me and now I have a nice scar on my chest. Yuck. And your nails do look awesome!
You are really making me want to try HR training again. I have not have had the patience in the past, but maybe I will try again.
I’ve never done HR training before, but I can see how it can make you a stronger runner.
Oh, heart rate training is so humbling! It takes patience but it’s worth it in the end. Keep us updated.
This is so interesting to me. I don’t train with a heart rate monitor, but your post makes me want to!
I don’t track my heartrate but I do log my workouts. I should definitely add that for more info!
I don’t track my heart rate when I workout. I toyed with the idea when I ran more often last year, but it never panned out. Maybe one day, I’ll get in the habit!