Monday, January 18, 2016

Current Training Plan

After having accomplished my goal of running a sub-2 hour half marathon in December 2015, I knew that I needed to take a step back and focus on strengthening and building my running base before jumping back into racing again.  I truly believe one of the key factors of my success in meeting my goal was the fact that I took the time over the summer to build a strong running foundation.

From June to late August, I built my base by running 25-30 miles per week at a slow, easy pace.  Although it was challenging at first not to have a "plan" that I was working towards,  I eventually just relaxed and had fun with it.  By switching my focus from a running schedule culminating in a race to a running schedule simply to build mileage, I felt better physically and mentally by the start of Fall.

So after my great base-building experience over the summer, I decided to focus on base building again this winter.  I eventually want to meet my goal of a sub-23 minute 5K this Spring, so I'll spend the first few months of this year building my base and then follow a more specific plan to improve my speed.  

For this go round of base-building, I decided to give heart-rate training a shot.  More specifically, I'm going to follow the MAF method (at least the exercise piece - I'm not going to change my diet at this point.)  The MAF method requires that you calculate your maximum aerobic heart rate and run all of your weekly mileage below that rate.  According to the 180 formula, my maximum heart rate is 145 so I am making a concerted effort to keep my heart rate below that number for every single run.

Every couple of weeks, you perform a MAF test, which requires you to run 3-5 miles AT your maximum aerobic heart rate and to record the time for each mile.  In theory, by running at a lower heart rate, you're working more aerobically and you become a more efficient runner.   That means for each MAF test you should see a decrease in mileage times because your fitness improves to allow you to run faster at a lower heart rate. 

So here's a look at my running schedule for the MAF method. I'm building my base for about 15 weeks and trying to average between 25 - 35 miles per week. Since I'm writing this post in the middle of my training, I've included previously completed weeks. You'll notice that all hasn't gone according to plan as I was sick after Christmas this year and had to take some days off for travel. 

Week M T W R F S S Total
12/14/15
OFF
4
3
3
8
4
5 (Test)
27
12/21/15
4
OFF
6
4
3
5
SICK
22
12/28/15
SICK
SICK
SICK
3
4
4
5 (Test)
16
01/04/16
3OFF
OFF
345515
01/11/16
44
OFF
3
6
5
6
28
01/18/16
4OFF6549533
01/25/16
OFF5654105 (Test) 35
02/01/16
3OFF3333318
02/08/16
OFF565410535
02/15/16
5OFF65410535
02/22/16
OFF5654105 (Test)35
02/29/16
3OFF3333318
03/07/16
OFF565410535
03/14/16
5OFF65410535
03/21/16
OFF5654105 (Test)35

Kind of a boring schedule, but I'm very interested in seeing whether or not my times decrease for my miles.  As you can see above, I've already done two MAF tests and I'll reveal the results of those in a separate post later this week. :)

I admit that part of me is a little worried that running so slowly will make me a slower runner.  But I figure even if that appears to happen after this trial, I can always just follow the same schedule I did this summer as I did last summer and hopefully have a great fall running season!

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