145 BPM MAF (Heart Rate Training) November update

Well, once again it’s been a while since I’ve posted an update on my Heart Rate (HR) training, and here it is.

At the moment I’m loving my EZ (Easy) run training. I’m continuing to work within my 145 beats per minute (BPM) boundaries and I’m making steady progress in the EZ or endurance running ‘zone’. I’ve been tracking my runs on Strava, it’s such an easy thing to do and the very friendly software keeps telling me that I’m trending faster! What does this mean?

Over the last 2 months, all bar one of my morning or afternoon runs on one of my routes have been run faster than the previous one. It sounds crazy, but it’s true!

These runs range from 5.57km – 6.5km and now take between 27 – 29 minutes. Both of the out and back runs were originally half an hour, as I ran out 15 minutes and aimed to be back by the 30 minute mark. On the weekend I like to get in an hour to 90 minute EZ run, though my recent focus has been chasing as much vert as possible to prep for the Vertical K race at the end of November.

Stupid hills!

The three morning/local runs that I most enjoy are the ‘Up the hill and back’ run which sees an elevation gain of roughly 63m up, and the lovely descent down, there is the ‘Bridge to bridge’ variation which is fairly neutral, though it also has more gain than you first think and finally the flattish, but with a steady 3% gradient home is the ‘Seville out n back’.

In the last two months my 'Bridge and back' time has dropped from 5:07pace to 4:48pace. 

The  ‘Up the hill and back time’ has come down from 5:03km/minute to 4:35km/minute.

Finally, the flattish 'Seville' run has come down from 5:00 to 4:34.

I’ll also note that these best times have now happened in the morning as well, where I was previously slower during my morning runs. Interestingly my best progress has come on the hill run. I am now running well ahead of the grade adjusted pace, in fact is says my 5:01 pace up the hill is nearer 4:23 pace on a flat. I’m still about 20 seconds behind what it says I should be running down the hill though. Hey, I’m more than happy to be hitting 4:03 pace down the hill though. You’ve still got to run, but imagine a sub 4 minute pace at your easy effort level!

Positives from this? My EZ pace/ half marathon plus pace is ‘this close’ to 4:30 pace. I’ve never run this fast at a sub 165 BPM effort level, let alone at a very relaxed 145 BPM level. I think it’ll soon be time to put it to the test somewhere.

Negatives? I do think I’ve lost a little of my top end pace. 3:55 km pace seems to be where I work best. Now I know this is a cracking pace to have, but I’ve been chasing 3:45 pace over 5kms for a while and it’s just not happening.

So, I’ll continue this training and see where it takes me. I’m hoping to improve on my 4:48 flat (football oval laps) 5km MAF (145 BPM) test, and I want to hit 4:30 pace. It’ll take time but time is what I have and I’m loving the training.

Till next time my friends,

ThisFishCANrun J

#citytrailmelbourne - My version of the 12k race

Are you someone who loves a wild and wet forecast, or does it make you want to snuggle in under the doona even deeper and hit ‘snooze?’ The weather gods had possibly dialled up hail, thunderstorms and a cold southerly wind – somewhere between 6 – 10 degrees Celsius.

I love a forecast like that and I beat the 0515 alarm up on Sunday and was up and about getting ready for the #citytrailmelbourne event held by Rapid Ascent. If you’ve been racing with me or just following the blog you’ll know how much I love the Rapid Ascent events. The vibe is awesome and they are happy races with happy runners, and I’m looking forward to the upcoming Salomon TrailRunning Series. But first I had a City Trail race to run. 

After a shower, I pulled on my new GHST top and the Elite MCS Compression tights by 2XU. I love the lightness of the GHST top and the orange stands out a mile away - and it also wears really well in the wet. There is no clinging or chaffing. That and the extra warmth and muscle engagement from the MCS tights should make for the perfect combination n the rain. I went through my core strength and leg strengthening and muscle engagement routine and then had a quick bite to eat before heading past Hannah’s house and into the city. It was great to have the company on the way in, as both of our families were going to stay home and hide from the weather. Hannah had had an amazing run at ‘Run the Rock’ yesterday and was backing it up with the 7km today. I was primed for the 12… The 12…

Arriving at Toms Block in Melbourne, we were both excited. #citytrail is a new concept and we had both been asked to run. The Melbourne event was to be the Australian first. The weather was ok, and we soon caught up with the AustralianRunning Convention team and my friends from the Dandenong Trails Runners. Even with the weather, there was a great vibe. About 0740 I hit the road for my warm ups, again I watched the HR flutter nearly straight up to 175 and hover there for a while before settling about 130.

Good times at the end, sorry no prerace piccies - Thanks Cheryl

By 0800 I’d made my way to the front of the starting line and was playing about with Cheryl and Ash. Right on 0800 the buzzer went and the field took off.

My plan for this race had been up and down like a yo-yo for the last couple of days – do I got all out at 170 BPM and higher or do I push it at a more comfortable rate of 165 BPM? As I settled into a rhythm a quick glance at the watch saw it at about 167- 170, perfect. I made my way up to about the top 20 of the field and found Lucy. A quick chat with her and a bit of a ‘what are you waiting for?’ from her and I made my way towards the front of the chase pack. I said g’day to Collette, the HIIT Mum but she was in the zone so I pushed forward a little more. About a k in we turned off the ‘Tan’ gravel track and onto the pavement down Anderson St. This was a nice little hill and we all picked up the pace a little.

At this stage I could just still see the pace bike in front and I was feeling really good. My HR was about 165, I was breathing just enough to be conscious of it without it being laboured. I was holding my position well, a little cat and mousing was happening but it was all in good fun. I was shadowing a couple of guys and a younger girl who would eventually win the u20 age group. We crossed the Yarra river and hit the first stairs and did a lap of AAMI Park – home to Melbourne Victory, Melbourne Storm and the Melbourne Rebels soccer and rugby union and league teams. From here it was back down the stairs, round the corner and were directed over the bridge. We crossed over the bridge again and passed the leading 7km runners before turning back towards the city.

*****     *****     *****     *****     *****

We should never have crossed that bridge...

The lead pack were out of sight now and my group were running solo. We picked up the pace a little along the river trail before heading under the Swan St bridge. Little did we know that the arrows we were following should have pointed us over the bridge… We continued along the path towards the city where at some point we had the feeling that we were on the wrong track. The signs had gone and we were heading past the rowing clubs. We were about to turn and trace our steps when we picked up the red arrows and breathed a sigh of relief, although we had a sinking feeling that we were way off course. For the fact that our race was over, we were able to laugh and see the lighter side of it and had a bit of a laugh.

We ran through the gardens and back towards Toms Block and the Tan. We picked up the trail again and a Marshall sent us back up the stairs past the Myer Music Bowl and onto a track that lead us past the finish…. We kept on going and eventually made the decision to run towards the Swan St bridge again and as we did we picked up sight of a few of the runners. 

                              *****     *****     *****     *****     *****

Phew, was perhaps a kinder word of the words that was said as we crossed the bridge and picked up the back of the field. I got super excited when I saw Lucy, who I know is never far from the front even if this was just a cruise, and it turns out she had only just got directed back on course. This got me pumped and I picked up the pace again and gave it another crack. It couldn't hurt right. The HR jumped back to about 170 and I started to pick and weave again. I picked up Collette and said a quick hello and moved on.

From here we went through Birrarung Marr and over the cool William Barak

wooden bridge before the slight climb up and over the path that leads to the G. This path has some great inbuilt speakers playing local indigenous music and sharing their stories, well worth a stop if you have the time… not today.

Our trail was diverted over the skeleton tunnel (I call it that, it’s walkway bridge) to Rod Laver Arena and we were lead through the outdoor tennis courts, perhaps the wettest and my favourite part of the course. By now we had a lot more traffic with the 7km course joining through and you had to be a little more careful of more sedate runners. I heard a couple of ladies say that this was about half way, which I was really pleased to hear!

After our journey through the courts and more stairs, and then some more stairs around HISENSE Arena we retraced our steps past the G, over the bridges and briefly along the Yarra River behind Fed Square before crossing over the famed Flinders St (Princess St) bridge and through the gardens and back towards Toms Block again (Hey, I know this part really well now!). This time the pace was a little slower, but I dug deep and found that last little bit as a few of us once again played cat and mouse and surged and passed and was passed before surging again. Talking to a few of my fellow runners it seems that they had also ran more than what they thought they should have at this point. Some took it as course measures being off, others were a little more than a just a bit upset. They hadn't ran as far as me though… 

Down one last lot of stairs - Thanks Rapid Ascent

We once more hit the sloping steps up past the Music Bowl and Government House and as we rounded the corner I knew the last 500- 800m was easy. This time I opened the taps a little and flew home. Crossing the timer mat before hitting the last 100m stretch I gave it my all. Finally that bloody finish line was there to be crossed. No one could understand how we had almost passed it before, and apparently some people had actually been misdirected enough to have crossed it much earlier.

At the end of the run my time was 1:09:36, a cracking time for 15.9km. Yup, 15.9km on a 12k city course. I reckon that’s pretty fair going! I was also really happy with my gear choice. The Mizuno Ekiden gave great ground response and just a touch of spring in my step and the grip levels were spot on in the rain. The 2XU GHST top was perfect in the conditions and the Elite MCS tights were warm and gave me the confidence to push hard. Both dried exceptionally well in the rain as well.

Love Suunto stats

Talking to Ash who also did a couple of extra ks yet still won his division, and Cheryl, Josie, Collette and a few others our little adventure was not the only one. At the end of the day it was great fun. I was gunning for a sub 40 10k and perhaps had we stayed on course and the lead pack continued to be in sight it may have happened, but there’s always another day.

Out of courtesy I caught up with the team from Rapid Ascent and let them know what happened, more to give them feedback on what I found missing from the day and to let them know that for me there was no hard feelings, though I wasn’t sure that everyone was going to be so forgiving. To their credit they somehow adjusted the times of the runners that reported their issues on course and at the end of the day I come in at 55:43 and 13^th overall, 10^th male and 7^th in my division. Going on my average time of 4:21 I reckon it could have been nearer 53:15 and 4^th or 5^th. But what will be will be. There’s always another race to be run!

And Hannah, she rocked the 7k course to take out in inaugural 7k woman's title!

  

Finally, for those following my HR strategy. My average HR was 166 over the 16k. I felt strong at this rate and I know it dipped a little when we were off course (Yes, you do lose heart when you know that the rest of the field are now quite a few kms ahead of you!). I picked up the pace again when we caught up, but while the 3^rdand 2^nd last kms were rather tough, the last km was great. The goal rate of 170 BPM is more like a 5-10k race pace, or the back half of a true 12km #citytrailmelbourne race when you still have a chance.

  

Cheers for now, Lachie

Heart Rate Training - It's got my blood pumping!

   Why does 5:05 excite me? It excites me because it points to progress. It excites me because it is very achievable and it excites me because I have something new to chase. For a little background keep reading, to get to what I’m excited about skip to the heart…

   My last couple of posts have been about my training and how I’m using me Heart Rate to guide my training and racing to maximise my effort at a maintainable level. A couple of years ago I tried a similar strategy and I think I gained some good growth in my running with it, but I never persisted with it. I did improve my pace from initially over 6:00 min/k pace to 4:55 pace. Then I stopped. I’m not sure why, ego?  

   Now I have started again and it excites me. My early training – since Feb this year was purely by HR, and I had no indication of the pace I was running at. I targeted 145 Bpm as I had trained to this before and my reading suggested that this number is the ideal number for nearly all runners, regardless of ability. 

   There are many formulas you can use, I struck on this one due to a blog that I read. As with anything new, you always question it and a little research lead me to breakingmuscle.com and robertsontrainingsystems.com/. Both blogs heavily support the 180 rule developed by Dr.Philip Maffetone  which is essentially 180Bpm – your age for your long run HR pace, or maximal aerobic capacity development. I've also posted on these pages and eagerly await some feedback on my training mix. 

   Since picking up the Suunto Ambit in early March I was only recording my HR. Now I can record my HR and then analyse the pace at the end of a run, and in more detail on the computer at home. My last three weekend long runs have been at the 145 Bpm average, but the varied terrain and incline made it difficult to gauge average pace. Close analyse of the data showed I was running at 5:45- 5:55 on the flats.

   Last Tuesday I did what I call a HR pyramid on a flat 700m section of the trail. This was to gauge my pace on the flat at set HR zone. Rep 1 was above 140 Bpm, rep 2 was above 150, rep 3 above 160, rep 4 was above 170 and rep 5 was to be a flat out HR max.  I could only hit 177 as the max and held it to make 2 x 350 intervals. What were the times I was doing?

•  140-145 Bpm = 4:36 km pace
•  155 – 160 = 4:32
•  165 – 170 = 3:56
•  170 – 175 = 3:37
•  175+ was 3:18 pace

   This has been fairly consistent with my other training runs and 160 – 170 Bpm seems to be the ‘comfort zone’ where I can now push for a couple of km to finish the last 300-400m at the 180 redline and roughly 3:30 pace for a strong 5km finish. My recent Parkrun was very similar –I started at 160 Bpm and a roughly 4:30 pace and the last 1.5km was run at 170+ for a 3:35  final km.

Heart rate training

   Now why did today's run excite me? I was feeling a little full of cold before heading off to run, so the planned tempo hill run became and EZ run. It took about 800m for the HR to settle (a little longer than usual), it maxed at 179 then instantly settled at 138 Bpm. Yes, it was an extra EZ run and I enjoyed the 2-3% downhill for 3.5 of the 6.25 kms on the 30 minute out trip.To give an indication, when running this trail the gradient change is subtle, but when riding you go from coasting along to a constant pedal to keep moving. The exciting part is that my average pace was 5:04 and even hit 4:16 on the slightly downhill sections. On the return trip I allowed my HR to push to 143 average up the hill and the pace hit 5:13kms, with a peak of 4:16 on the true flat of the last 300m.

   The question is, is my two high intensity, 165 + interval or tempo sessions where I aim to build endurance at the high end going to complement the strength I'm developing at the low end?

   I’m hoping this is the tip of the iceberg, the breakthrough run where it all falls into place. If I can maintain this pace for the effort level at the Great Ocean Road half marathon I will smash last years’ time out of the water.

  My 12km #citytrail run Sunday the 19th will be another experiment - can I mainitain that magic 160 Bpm for 8 km, and then finish strong at 170 Bpm for the last 4km? It will be a physiological and psychological challenge but one I am very much looking forward to!

   I'll let you know!

2015 Maroondah Dam trail race - 8km

   The morning of the 2015 8 km Maroondah Dam Trail run was so different to most of our other runs. The 11 o’clock start in Healesville allowed us a leisurely morning. Up at 7 when the kids woke, breaky as we pleased and in the car at 9:15 to get to the Dam for 9:45.

   This gave us an hour to kill before the 10:45 race briefing. With a field of only 40 odd entrants, it was a low key briefing with just enough seriousness to keep us on course when we got out there.

I approached this race as a purely strategic experience. With my recent Heart Rate training, I wanted to set my parameters and see what I could achieve and how I got there.

   Knowing that I’d been recording some big spikes in my HR during the warm up components of my runs I did a couple of laps of the picnic area and car park and sure enough, I soon hit 185 BPM. Nothing to be concerned about, and after a few minutes it settled to 130.

   At 11:00 the field took off and I went with them. I wanted to run this race purely at a HR of 160 BPM. It didn’t matter who else was running and what they did or when they did it. I also had no intention of getting sucked in to looking at my pace. I just wanted to go by feel.
   Why the decision to run purely by HR? If you've caught my previous post on my recent summer training, I'd found training in the afternoon, and in the heat to be more challenging than I'd thought it would be. My target of 160 is roughly 87% of my recorded maximum working HR for this year in the heat (185bmp) - 15% (27 BPM) to put me at 158 BPM. I'd also lost my foot pod, so I didn't have any idea on what sort of pace I'd been training at. 
  160 BPM is also a pace I knew I could run strongly at for 7k, so the 8k was the chance to push it out just a little bit more. 

I think my form looks pretty good here

   For the first 7km I was going to limit myself to 160. Looking at the course elevation I knew that the fist 1.2k would be up a sharp incline, and sure enough there were a few who took off. I ran with them as I allowed my HR to hit the magic number and soon settled into my running rhythm. I felt really good as the pace of some eased while others pushed forward. Me, I sat at 160 and found myself in 7^th place and enjoyed having no idea of how fast we were running. That information would all be there at the finish.

What I hoped my HR graph would look like, and it did :) 

   At the end of the first 2km we had reached the peak of the hill and the descent began. I knew I could push the pace here and I soon reeled in the runner ahead. The guy in 5^th place had taken off and was a few hundred metres ahead and pulling away. This section of the race was a beautiful flowing downhill section with untouched bush to our right.  I resisted the temptation to try and pull another position and stuck to my strategy. By the third km we were on the flat and I was happily pushing a steady pace with who I now know is Dave who had caught me as I kept my effort level constant.

   As we reached the weir and half way turn around point we crossed a small creek just before the leaders came haring past on their way home. As we touched the check point and grabbed a water we worked out there was daylight between us and the top 5, and then daylight between 8^th and the rest of the pack. So far I was feeling great and the strategy of running purely to an effort level was paying off, and Dave and I were having a great old chat. The fifth km was back on the flat before we hit the hill on the return home, roughly 2km to the finish.

   Dave started to pull away and as I checked the watch I was pushing 165 BPM. I slowed my pace a little and gradually pulled him back, and and just before the peak I had to give him a little encouragement to keep on going as I reached the first false peak before finally hitting the top.

   Knowing that once I hit the descent it was virtually all downhill I finally let myself go. I was able to turn on the taps and put some distance between Dave ad myself. I knew that 5^th place was likely beyond my reach so I really enjoyed flying down the hill, racing across the top of the Dam wall and flying down the track that slowed us all at the start.  As I reached the finishing area I could see and hear the kids and it gave me the final kick I needed.

   Through the chute and the aeroplane wings came out, followed by a big air tap over the finish line.

   At the end of the day I was stoked to have finished 6^th as this was all about strategy. I had trained to 160 BPM up and down the local hills and on the flats. Remembering I’d no idea of how fast I’d been running during training, I averaged almost bang on the 160 BPM for the entire race, with the last km pushing it to 164 my average per/km pace was 4:33. I’d been hoping to get under 5s as last year’s winning time was just under 38 minutes. My time of 35:41 would have easily won it last year.This year the really fast guys turned up J and I was about 20 seconds a km off podium pace, but I’m happy with. No ‘what if I…’ for this little fish.
   I've been asked what had I achieved at the end of this race? Why the experiment? I really enjoyed the run. I think the cooler weather helped to keep my heart rate down, allowing me to work a little easier than I had been doing in the evenings. Perhaps I could have pushed harder at say the 5k mark but I was able to run at a pace that was competitive and gave me the top 10 finish that I was hoping for, just missing my third trails + 5th place. It gave me the confidence to stick to my guns and race my own race (or was it just a good solid run?)

I was happy with the consistent pace, but according to Strava should be quicker down hill. But this was about constant effort.

   So, where to next? After I recover from the Roller Coaster Run I aim to gradually build up to 165 BPM for my tempo and interval work and 150 BPM during my long runs. As the winter season draws near I want to push that to 170 BPM and 155 BPM.

   I’ve played with Heart Rate training before, but not as seriously as this. I'm excited again.

   

   I can’t wait to see how it all goes. I’m excited, are you? 

My Summer Training strategies - Heart rate training

   A while ago I posted about my experiences with Heat Rate training (initial post and the follow up post). With my increasing training load for the Roller Coaster run (a write up to come) and the Great Ocean Road in May, for my training during the Australian Summer I needed to find a baseline and manageable limit to my training.

   With a change in family lifestyle in February this year, my weekday training had to make the switch to afternoons. At the time I was super excited to not have to get out of bed, hit the road early and train before school. Most of the time I really enjoyed it, but in trying to establish better sleeping habits I liked the idea of an extra 20-25 minutes in bed each day.

   Fast-forward 6 weeks and it’s tougher than I thought. A long day, the drive home and then a regular 27 – 30 degree C heat I’m needing to find motivation and regularity. For me the regularity has become my heart rate.

I’ve continued to love my easy long runs, and have had no issue with running them at a heart rate of 140 – 145 on the flatter runs, while on the hillier runs I aim to keep it at 145 and up to 150 on the incline. Yes speed drops, but effort has to remain consistent. This also means I need to push a little harder on the decline – no slacking off. I’ve again built up to happily running 2 hours over varying terrain and gradients.

   As I mentioned, after work has been the challenge. So in the last 4 weeks and after some experimentation and realisation, I’ve been targeting 160 BPM as my happy place. I calculated it as about 90% of my working heart rate – 185 recorded max this year – 10%. Using a formula from Brian Mac, Sports coach, my 85% zone is 163 so when I push it that little more or allow it to fluctuate due to the many variables in a run and life I’ve been hitting the sweet spot. There are many different formulas out there. 160 seemed to be where I could manage a stupid steep 2km hill climb or push 3km on a constant 3-6% uphill course at about 4 – 4:15 minute km pace.

You can check out some of the data @ http://www.brianmac.co.uk/hrm1.htm

   So how am I utilising this? My weekday runs are a mix of a 5.5km rather steep hill run (Roughly 50% mix of ascent and descent as its out and back) where I limit 165 on the up and push to stay at 160 on the down (that stupid 2km incline inc), 7km over 3.5km out at a 3-6% gradient hill at 160 before pushing the speed to hit and maintain the 165 on the descent, 1km trails repeats on a favourite track at 160 bpm, dropping to 145 bpm during static recovery before the next repeat, diminishing ks where I start at a pace and increase the speed every k over 5km and finally varying high speed intervals (100m on an incline on a bush trail or up to 500m on the Warby Trail) where I try to max and sustain 165 – 170 and recover with a 50m walk. I think I get a great mix of training on my two nights a week and as I lost my foot pod, I’ve only had HR to go on.  And, this gives me a constant when the temperature has been hot. With the new Ambit 3 I bought I’ll be able to monitor HR and speed. The speed component I’ll only look at at the end of each run as I want to train my heart, not the head.   

   How do I know where I’m working? At 145 bpm or less I rarely have to think about my breathing, and if I do I can easily breathe nasally during the intake and exhale through the mouth. 150 bpm and higher I start to focus on my cadence and breathing in for three strides and out for two, on a 3-2 inhale-exhale cycle. At 160 BPM I drop to a 2-1 inhale exhale cycle and really have to focus hard to breathe nasally although I do revert to all breathing through the mouth when pushed.

   So, the big question is, has it worked? I’ve only really just found 160 BPM to be that happy place in the last few weeks and as luck would have it, my evening run nights have been those hot and humid nights that we all don’t love to train in. I’ve pushed the 1.1km repeats to 170 but by the third my time over the 1.1km dropped by 35 – 35 seconds.  Perhaps 160 has been an inflated target that’s not pushed me enough. I'll also monitor my resting HR by lying down for a minute (just enough to relax) and work from there. If it's a lower HR I'll be able to push harder, if it starts higher I may just take things a fraction easier. And, theres always just going by how you feel. 
   You’ll have to come back for my Maroondah Dam 8km race report to find out just how it all worked, as this was a race of pure forget the rest strategy. It was all about me and learning what makes my keeping ticking.

   Cheers and happy training, the Fish!