MAF training

MAF Training Update (Part II)

April 14, 2015 by Kristy 4 Comments

I’m feeling rather giddy about yesterday’s MAF test. (What MAF training is and why I’m doing it, see here.)

The last time I did a MAF test was in February. It went OK – I didn’t think it was indicative of my progress but you get what you get on testing days. Then I got sick, didn’t run for 2 weeks, etc., etc. I spent the last 3 weeks getting back on track. It was frustrating to say the least. My HR monitor would beep incessantly. I was running 10:00-10:30 average pace on most runs. Then, last Monday, I had a really great run (9:32 average pace). I waited a week (was it a fluke?!) and decided to do a MAF test yesterday.

MAF testing days always make me nervous. You can have a good day or a bad day and it is what it is. No redos (at least I don’t allow redos). I generally run a 3-mile warm up at well below my MAF HR (~ 130), then run 4 to 5 miles at my MAF HR (143).

Baseline MAF test from November 30th (when I started MAF training). Shown below are the MAF miles (purple) and their corresponding HR.

Month 2+ MAF test from February 8th. This was a blah run. My stomach was rumbling (note the GI issues!) and I felt that my paces were faster on other runs. There is definitely progress though.

Month 4.5(ish) MAF test from April 13th. I felt amazing yesterday and decided to add a 5th MAF mile. I got so excited about seeing 8:xx pace that my HR was a smidge high for miles 4 and 5!

I do take yesterday’s results with a (slight) grain of salt – it was a good run day. Just like February 8th was a blah run day. But you cannot deny the data! MAF training – it works, folks!

I still have 6 more weeks of MAF training. Unless I plateau…then I’ll stop MAF and start adding in speed work. Part of me will be sad to set aside the HR monitor but I’m actually looking forward to moving my legs (fast) again!

Fall Plans

April 8, 2015 by Kristy 2 Comments

Once you put it out there on Facebook, you’re committed.

Honestly, this makes me very excited. My last marathon was before I got pregnant (December 2012) so I may as well get back at it.

I chose Lehigh Valley Marathon as a last ditch effort for Boston 2016. I ran it in 2011 and BQ’d so the race means a lot to me. It’s also a great course and a not-too-crowded one (although it has grown in popularity since 2011). I’m not sure yet what time I’ll be going for (PR is 3:41). With MAF training and missing out on the LOVE Run, I have no clue where my speed is right now.

Then there’s the Monster Mash Marathon in DE…5 weeks later. This was a deferral from 2014. If I can snag a PR/BQ at LVM, then maybe this will be a fun run. If LVM goes bad, then maybe this will be a redemption run.

I’ve never done 2 marathons so closely together but I think this will be my new standard (well…we’ll see). I love to run 2 marathons per year and generally do Spring and Fall but, after the winter we had and being sick, I don’t think I’d ever do another Spring marathon (outside of Boston, of course).

And then there’s the Philly Half Marathon…because I look forward to running it each year.

I’m taking the next 7 to 8 weeks to build my mileage back up to the 40 and 50s. Slow, gradual, and strictly adhering to the 10% rule. I’m still MAF training too. My intention all along was to continue MAF though May and then add some speed work back in when I began marathon training. Last week I hit 40 miles for the first time in over a month. And on Monday, after 2 weeks of thinking I was back to square one with MAF training, I was finally hitting my pre-bronchitis MAF paces. (And then I thought it was a fluke, but it wasn’t!)

I’m still mulling over how I want to train for these marathons. I’m tossing around the idea of following Pfitzinger’s 55-70 mpw plan, with some modifications. I find that I’m very bad at coaching myself after creating plans for clients all day. It totally falls by the wayside. Pfitzinger’s plan is pretty much where I would want to go with my training this time around. But we shall see 🙂

and so it goes…

March 24, 2015 by Kristy 7 Comments

I’m out for the LOVE Run this coming Sunday. While this pissed me off last week – mostly because I ran the inaugural race last year and wanted to do it each year – I’m OK with it now.

The past 10 weeks have been rough. I won’t bore you with details but I’ve been sick. A lot. An URI in January, food poisoning/stomach bug (can’t say for sure) a few weeks later, another stomach bug 3 weeks later, and now currently bronchitis. If I told you I was a person that rarely got sick, would you believe me?!

My running has been up and down. I would hit 35-40 miles on a good week when I was feeling better, then tank the next week with 20-25 miles when I was sick again. I’m still amazed at how well MAF training was going through all these up and downs. I was still making some progress (and very grateful for slow, easy runs when I wasn’t 100%).

But bronchitis was the final straw. Bronchitis sucks in general. But bronchitis + asthma really sucks. It has taken up residence in my lungs for the past 2+ weeks. Two rounds of antibiotics and 2 rounds of steroids and I’m finally feeling better. Although the steroids make me feel all Jessie-Spano-I’m-S0-Excited (I’m seriously jumping out of my own skin), today is my last day of them.

So I didn’t run for 2 weeks. Two weeks!!! Doesn’t mean that I didn’t try…twice. I made it a 1/2 mile and coughed my head off.

reunited this past weekend

I did begin running again this past weekend and it feels amazing. Nothing like 2 weeks off to revive the legs and mind! But it’s slow going. I’m still MAF training, but with the Jessie Spano ‘roids, it’s tough to keep my heart rate down. I know this is temporary though and each day will get a lot easier.

I did contemplate doing the LOVE Run as a MAF training run but I just can’t put myself through that. It would be such a stupid move. I need to get healthy and ease back into running – 2 weeks off, 2 weeks (at least) back on.

I hate whiny posts (and I hope this doesn’t come across as whiny…it was meant to be an update) so I’ll end on some positive notes ~

I’m not injured. I’m back running. I’ll get my fitness back and I’ll be fine for the Fall (at least 1 marathon on tap, if not 2!).
With the exception of a low-grade fever and minor cold, Fiona escaped all of these illnesses. Even the stomach bug. It was impressive.

my immune system rocks

Good luck to everyone running LOVE this weekend! It looks like awesome weather (better than last year!). Enjoy.

MAF Training Update

February 20, 2015 by Kristy 6 Comments

I’ve started this post a million times in my head and I’m finally sitting down and putting pen to paper. I’ve been training via the MAF method for the past 11 weeks….meaning all my runs have been at my MAF heart rate (i.e., easy). I’ve been a diligent student too – no cheating – except for strides.

So how do I really feel about MAF training? The first 6 weeks? I hated it. The past 5 weeks? Amazing. I’ll elaborate.

The first 6 weeks
I ran slow. Very slow. On some runs my heart rate monitor would beep incessantly (meaning I was above my MAF heart rate and needed to slow down). This, in turn, would make me pissed and then my heart rate would spike even more…a vicious cycle. I had (and still have to on occasion) walk up hills. Sometimes I had to walk up inclines. Frustrating, to say the least.

I generally run by myself but I do coach a track night on Tuesdays. It’s awkward to explain a workout and send everyone off while you mosey behind at a comfortable pace and explain how you are doing low heart rate training blah, blah, blah.

I love hill workouts. I haven’t done any hill workouts since MAF training. I miss them. It’s eye-opening to notice how quickly your heart rate skyrockets when running uphill. I could do hill workouts, I would just have to walk them.

I wasn’t seeing that much progress. You are supposed to “test” every 4 weeks. Four weeks into MAF training, I was about 10 seconds faster per mile. I also take testing days with a grain of salt – it’s a snapshot of your progress on that day. There are good days and bad days and good weather and bad weather.

The past 5 weeks
Right after I wrote my last post I got a nasty upper respiratory infection requiring antibiotics. Then the antibiotics caused side effects. I started to feel better and then got sidelined with food poisoning. I spent a solid month being sick. I ran but not a lot. I was so worried that all my MAF progress would be reversed.

Then it was like a miracle. I had a week where my average pace on all runs was around 9:30. (For reference, when I started MAF training, my average pace was 10:20.) I still wasn’t feeling 100% so I was pretty shocked by the numbers. I wrote it off as a fluke (maybe I was well rested after a few weeks of low mileage?).

That 9:30 average pace stuck around consistently for the next 3 weeks. Now I’m seeing 9:15s and the occasional 8:50 pop up. All at my MAF training heart rate. It’s pretty unbelievable. (Side note: I feel the need to clarify that I’m not obsessing about pace – you can’t when MAF training – or you’ll drive yourself nuts. Pace isn’t even a field that I can see on my Garmin right now. But I could not help but notice my average pace drop in my training log…consistently.)

So now I’m really drinking the Maffetone Kool-Aid and plan to do so until I plateau. I hope I can make it a full 6 months training this way. The only race I have planned for the Spring is the Philly LOVE Run. That’ll be with 4 months of MAF training under my belt. I’m excited to see what I can do!

Drinking the Maffetone Kool-Aid

January 7, 2015 by Kristy 7 Comments

The last time I posted – ages ago – I mentioned doing something different (for me). After researching, hearing, and reading about the Maffetone method (MAF training) for the past year, I decided to take the plunge.

So what is MAF training and why am I doing it?

The What
Training via the Maffetone method is running at or below your maximum aerobic heart rate. Maffetone defines this as 180 minus your age +/- a few factors. My MAF heart rate is 143. I wear a heart rate monitor on every run and I keep all runs between 133-143 bpm. Translation – pretty damn slow.

The Why
So why am I slogging around and walking up hills? To build a sufficient aerobic base and become a better fat burner (our most abundant fuel). Obviously both of these are crucial to marathoning, something I haven’t done since December 2012. In hindsight, I should have started with MAF training right after Fiona was born. I still think 2014 was a solid running year but I know my aerobic base needs some fine tuning. Translation – run slow to run fast.

At your maximum aerobic heart rate, Maffetone says, you can efficiently build an aerobic base. Training above this heart rate puts you in an anaerobic zone, which shifts more to sugar burning rather than fat burning. Over time, you can (hopefully) run faster at the same heart rate (it’s recommended that you do MAF training for 4-6 months).

I started MAF training the week after the Philly HM, so I’ve been doing it for about 5 weeks. When you begin you do a MAF test, as a baseline to assess your fitness. Each month thereafter you test again. For my MAF tests, I do an 8-mile run:

3 miles very slow, under my MAF heart rate to warm-up
4 miles at my MAF heart rate <– these are the miles I’m recording and concerned with
1 mile “cool down”

My baseline test – those key 4 miles I mentioned above – weren’t awfully slow…about 10:20 pace. (Sidenote: when I decided to do MAF I was so worried my MAF heart rate would translate to 13:00 pace, based on what I read. So I was pleasantly surprised with 10:20 pace.)

Four weeks later (right after Christmas), I tested again. Those 4 miles were around 10:10 pace. Not earth-shattering by any means but it was after 4 days of merriment (beer and sugar, sugar and beer). If you’ve ever done heart rate training, you know what crappy eating, alcohol, and late nights do to your heart rate. (Another sidenote: this past week I’ve consistently seen paces around 9:30-9:45. Progress?)

I’ve only scratched the surface here. How I feel about MAF training and my plans for it are all for another post!

And…an unrelated picture of Fiona (who is turning 1 on Friday)!

MAF training

And…I’m having an ONLINE coaching sale (1 month FREE!) now through January 14th!