Fred Doucette's Half-Iron and Ironman Focused Group! -CLOSED! (Page 6)

Always interesting to hear about experiences with different training philosophies/plans.  Some are so different. For example Endurance Nation follows more of a "fast then far" with frequent intervals at FTP on the bike and more interval training on the run as compared to Mark Allen Online which seems to advocate alot of Z2 aerobic base training (Maffetone method).  Hope we can get into this at some point as it is interesting to me how 2 very different approaches can both yield positive results. 

Heading back home today and back to training tomorrow. Took 3 days off to give my hamstring and calf a chance to heal a bit.

Randy 

McMillan is an excellent source for calulating training paces.  Another good source is Jack Daniels (not the whiskey) who uses a system that assigns an individual a "VDOT" based on a recent race or timed run. Very similar to Mcmillan in terms of recommending different paces for an individual depending on the specific workout.  www.runworks.com/calculator.php  is a calculator that can give you recommended paces based on a current race time.  I have the Daniels book that has VDOT charts in it but I dont know how to post a link to that information.    

I agree with Fred that HR training can be affected by many variables and may not always be the best indicator of your effort.  HR can be affected by hydration, limited sleep, stress and many other things. The other problem with HR training is that it "trails" your actual effort-if you start doing a hard interval it will take some time for your HR to build to reflect your current effort level.  With that said, I still wear a HR monitor most of the time when I run and always when on the bike to provide information in addition to watts, etc. from the Powertap.   

I pay more attention to HR on my long runs than tempo or interval efforts.  My long runs are suppose to be easy and I dont worry too much about pace as long as I am keeping my HR at the appropriate level.  Most of the time the pace is about what I expect but in a long run I want to build on my aerobic base so I pay more attention to the HR. 

I think HR, RPE and the more complicated information provided through a powertap all have their place.  Consistency is key.  Find a means to measure your workout intensity and then you have something to guage your progress.   

Randy

Joe-fortunately for me hydration on my long runs isn't an issue as there are several places along my usual route with water fountains.  But, my HR is much higher, at the same pace, during the hot and humid summers down here than where it is on a nice 50 degree day.

I think both McMillan and Daniels discuss what % of weekly mileage/time should be spent at what level of intensity/pace. Before beginning to use the HR monitor on runs I found that I tended to push the pace more than I should have.   The coach I used last year had me doing almost all runs at an "easy" pace. As I got closer to race season I would do 1 interval session a week and then in the weeks leading up to a goal race I would do the last 2-3 miles of a long run at race pace or faster to get accustom to pushing some when already fatigued.  I've read articles on some of the great Kenyan runners and while they may be able to maintain a 4:55/mile pace through a marathon they do many long runs at 8-9min/mile pace-basically shuffling along for them.  As with almost everything it is finding the balance that is key  

It is much easier on the body to do more frequent hard intervals on the bike as you dont have the same stress on the body.  I find this is especially true now that I am an old man.  While I enjoy the running intervals/speed work it takes me longer to recover. I am a big believer in active recovery as an easy swim or 45 min bike make my legs feel better after a hard run effort.   

Randy

No real problems with the increased pace at the end of a long run.  Good thing is the body is really warmed up and my "race pace" was for the half marathon at the end of a HIM. So, maybe a minute faster than my ususal long run pace-not too bad. Also, this would typically be on a Sunday and my interval run day was Wed. so plenty of time to recover from harder effort. As I got closer to my HIM and had some tough Sat./Sunday workouts I would try to have a "leg rest" day on Monday with just swimming and maybe a super easy 30-45 min. ride on the rollers to flush out the legs-nothing to compromise recovery.

 Randy