• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content

Run The Long Road Coaching

personalized coaching for distance runners

  • Philosophy
  • Services
    • Policies
  • Shop
  • Success Stories
  • FAQs
  • Meet Kristy
  • Contact
  • FaceBook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter

maffetone

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)!

IMG_4890

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

© 2023 · Developed by JX2 Development.