Happy Mitochondria

The Birthday Present

In September, my lovely husband gave me a Garmin 110 and a heart rate monitor for my birthday. I dove right into using my Garmin but waited a couple of weeks to strap on the heart rate monitor. I had done some preliminary research on heart rate zones and performed some lazy calculations to identify where I thought my training zones would be. When I went out for my first run with the monitor I was shocked at the data. Running at my normal pace, my HR was in the mid 170s and even small hills on my regular route pushed me into the 180s. 

I am not fast, and most of the time I do my 3-4 runs/week between 9-9:30 minutes/mile. Quickly I found that to get my heart rate into the 160s, I had to run between 10-11 minute miles and to stay in the 150s - yep  12 minute miles. WHAT?!

Let's Make Some Happy Mitochondria

By early November, I had done some additional research, listened to podcasts and started following bloggers who use low heart rate training. I also noticed that the slower I ran, the less things ached and hurt. I wasn't as tired after a long run. 

My research brought me to the hypothesis* that I need to slow down and build a stronger aerobic base. I have decided that for now, I am going to test this hypothesis following the advise of Phil Maffetone and am currently reading his book: The Big Book of Endurance Training.

What has drawn me to this methodology is:

Easy to to use heart-rate formula (180-age)
There are many ways to calculate your target heart rate zones including going into a lab for testing. I'm not a serious athlete and don't really have time for extensive testing. Simplicity works for me. Read more about the maximum aerobic heart rate calculation.

Staying healthy and injury free 
I have been running regularly for almost three years and have been to PT twice and have found myself nursing sore feet, Achilles, hip flexors, burn-out, lingering sickness. 

Not feeling so tired after long runs

If I am going to train for a half marathon (or two) this year, that means several weekend mornings where I am away from my family for 2+ hours. That is a lot of time for a working mom and it is a no go if I am tired, sore, cranky for the rest of the day. 

Getting a bit faster

I'm not expecting (or trying) to BQ - but it would be nice to run a sub 54 minute 10K and sub 2 hour half marathon. 

There are other benefits to this approach - but for me, the ones listed above are my motivating factors. If interested in learning more, you could listen to this podcast, read this article, this one or talk to your doctor. 

What could possibly get in my way? 

• pride: I need to go how slow to keep my HR below 141?
• time: It currently takes me about 82 minutes to run 6 miles - longer runs = more time commitment than usual. This should get better over time - but is a bit discouraging now.
• boredom: I like instant gratification and equate copious amounts of sweat and being out of breath to having a good workout. I need some reconditioning. 

Running the Maffetone way requires some patience. Results don't occur over night and long runs just became a bit more time consuming. I do my best to make time for my fitness with the limited allotment of hours my schedule affords me and there isn't much more time to squeeze without sacrificing more sleep (or family harmony). 

I also have a theory that this approach will better complement my yoga practice. The good I am trying to do for my body during my studio and home practice sessions is often undone by these sustained, anaerobic efforts. I am not sure how to measure gains in this area quantitatively but I will definitely be mindful of this in the coming months.

There is more to Maffetone training than I am listing here. At this time, I am not adopting it 100% (cutting sugar/carbs - not happening!). I may not reap all of the rewards, but I am committing to keeping my HR below 141 for the next 4 months and I'm confident that I will reap the rewards of fewer injuries and  ROI in the form faster recovery and fewer injuries. 

What's Next:

I started pay serious attention to my heart rate in late November and decided to give myself a month to get used to running with a max heart rate of 141. I will do my first Maximum Aerobic Function (MAF) test on 1/1/15 and then around the first of the month following that.

Currently I'm doing about 80% of my runs on the treadmill and that likely won't change until March or April. As such, I'm still working out the best way to do my MAF tests.

I am going to take this 1 month at a time. (It was really hard to write that)

There may be a half marathon on my calendar for mid-May. Because of that "maybe" I would like to add some inclines/hills and intervals but I'm really not sure when I will be able to do that and keep my heart rate below 141.

I will be documenting my progress and how this approach affects my running and overall fitness and posting my monthly MAF tests here on RFG.


Wish me luck! Kim



* I am not a doctor or nurse and I do not have a degree in exercise physiology, I am not a licensed trainer or coach. I have zero qualifications to give advice or tell others what to do with their bodies. I do try to be a vigilant observer of my body's needs and love to read up on ways to stay fit and challenge myself.