Heart rate running continues for
me. I’m still in the initial building
phase at this point, which involves staying in the aerobic zones. This is recommended for a period of about two
months. I started using heart rate as a
guide on August 7th, but I hadn’t figured my max correctly and was
at too high of a zone. This was
corrected on September 9th. I’ll
continue to do all my runs in the aerobic zone (the target rate is 155) until
October 29th, when I’ll start to throw in different runs and zones.
 |
| Seen on my run; morning sunrise is beautiful this time of year! |
How do I stay near my target of
155? I have a 5 beat per minute “buffer”
on each side. The Garmin 610 is set to
vibrate whenever I’m outside of this 10 beat per minute zone. Trust me: it can get frustrating! There have been times that I’ve wanted to rip
the watch off and throw it; not because it is wanting me to increase my heart
rate, but because it jumps up too high too quickly (usually on hills). But I remember how much I paid for the thing,
so I deal with it. Whenever it gets too
high, I walk until it hits the low end of the zone, and then I run again. On occasion, I’ve had to pick up my pace to
get it above the low number, as well (starting to have to do that more and
more; progress?).
 |
| It lets me know (often), when I'm zoned out. |
After about two months of work
(October 29th), I’ll finally break out of that zone. At that time, I’ll start doing tempo runs,
intervals, and hill repeats. These will
all be in a higher heart rate zone (different, depending upon the type of
run). These runs will (supposedly) get
my body/heart accustomed to operating in a higher heart rate zone, and also
lower (supposedly) my average heart rate; meaning those aerobic runs will
increase in pace. That’s the theory;
that’s what I’m testing.
What have I noticed so far? I think it is important to keep in mind that
I’m early in the game. I’d say you can
figure that I’ve been at it for about a month.
I haven’t really noticed that my pace has quickened any. However, I have noticed that the runs have become
easier. I’ve also noticed that I’m not
in as much pain as I was at the start.
Today, in fact, I had a run of 4 ¾ miles (I’m slowly building distance
twice per week) and felt like I could have run it again when I was done. Granted, it was very, very slow, but so was
my first heart rate run. But I was
exhausted when I completed that one.
Another thing I’ve noticed is that
when I do push into higher zones (I cheat over the last quarter mile of each
run and ignore the monitor), it still feels comfortable. I think that there is something to this; that
my heart is conditioning nicely.
Finally, while I haven’t noticed a
huge drop on the scale from week to week (although I’m down 14 pounds since
August 1st), I’ve noticed inches are coming off quicker than
weight. Perhaps this ties into the
ability for the aerobic zone to burn fat as a primary fuel source?
I’ll continue on this path and see
where it leads. It will be
interesting. I feel like I’m progressing
and that’s what is important.
To your progress!
Travis
No comments:
Post a Comment