To date, all training has been very much ad-hoc. I've 'just' gone for a run, or gone for a bike ride etc. Sometimes I've tried to do a longer one, or push the pace a little, or beat a previous time up Box Hill etc but never has there been any real structure to anything. So, with a mere 55 weeks to go to IMR, I thought it was time to get a little more organised.
So, from 16 July to the end of September I have decided to do all my exercise at no more than 150 beats per minute (bpm). Assuming a Max Heart Rate (MHR) of 194 and a Resting Heart Rate (RHR) of 50, 150 bpm is 70% of my Working Heart Rate (WHR) calculated as ((MHR-RHR) x70%) +RHR. Simples!
The theory is that at sub 70% WHR my body trains itself to burn energy more efficiently from my fat stores (I have plenty!) and not from my precious glucose stores. At the moment I'm getting over the ego issue of a) running slowly all the time and b) having to walk a lot, especially when I start going up a hill.
In time (by end of September I hope) my body should be much more efficient at burning fat so I should be able to run faster at this lower heart rate. This in turn should mean that when I put the hammer down (ha!) I should be able to run faster than I can currently. Whilst the latter benefit is well worth having, given that I'm training for an IM, I want to be able to run and bike for hours on end, efficiently and as a low a heart rate as possible. It's likely that aside from hills (and the big sprint finish!) my heart rate will not get much over 150bpm for much of the race, hence the importance of being as efficient and quick at that rate.
So for another 8 weeks or so, I'm having to leave my ego at home and let people snigger at me as they drive up a small hill that I'm walking up!
Oh I do love a blog and am going to enjoy following your journey to IM and learning a thing or two no doubt. That HR training is good stuff....made me faster and know what you mean with the ego and going slow! Stick with it and good luck ;)
ReplyDeleteIf you get too technical on HR stuff my blonde head will explode everywhere!
ReplyDeletenice blogging and good luck with the HR training, looking forward to reading more. Will link to your blog from my wordpress one if you don't object.
ReplyDeleteAli, you might need to do this for longer than 8 weeks. I'm sure I've read that 3 months is the recommended time to ensure you have properly adapted. There was once a huge thread on this on RW "base training" I think was the title. Good luck with it.......
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