How to includie a HRM in my comeback?

I was in a similar situation to you a couple of years ago. I got back into shape following Phil Maffetone's method.

http://www.rrca.org/resources/articles/slowdown.html

Basically, do all your running below your MAF heart rate (180-age). All of it. Never let it get above this number. In the beginning you will be moving very slowly...maybe having to walk occasionally. Don't worry about it, be patient. You will get faster as you get into shape.

In terms of a schedule, it doesn't really matter too much. Run or do some other aerobic exercise everyday (sticking to your MAF HR limit). Incease the volume over time. This is what I did for the first year or so upon my return:

M - Run 45 minutes

T - Stationary bike 45 minutes

W - Run 45 minutes

T - Stationary bike 45 minutes

F - Run 45 minutes

S - Hike - 2-3 hours

S - Run 60-90 minutes

In the beginning I would need to walk portions of each run to keep my HR below my MAF-level. After the first few months that wasn't an issue. I rode the stationary bike twice a week primarily for injury prevention. I did the hike each Saturday with my dog (I live very near trails) because I enjoy it.

The thing to keep in mind for the first 6 months to a year is that you are not training to race like you did in high school or college. You are exercising to lose weight and improve your aerobic conditioning. Eventually you may decide to train to race, but for the time being just worry about getting healthy and fit again. Good luck.

That was an interesting read. I think I will give this approach a shot. It will be interesting to be pulling walks to keep the rate down.

Did you find your paces were able to increase while staying below your MAF (either on your runs or bike sessons)? The author notes that up to six months is reasonable to spend on aerobic activity? Were you still seeing improvement on your runs after six months?

Yes. I started at about 12 minutes a mile...pretty much having to walk up any hill and occasionally having to walk towards the ends of long runs if I was right up against the MAF. After about a month I could pretty much run nonstop without going over MAF unless there was a serious hill -- usually around 10 minute pace. After that my MAF pace fell by 15-30 seconds a month.

You got to be patient. The first month or two are going to be very annoying. Some days you'll feel like you can barely jog without going over MAF. That's okay. Don't train over the MAF. With patience you'll lose weight, improve your fitness, and avoid injuries.

You might want to check out Maffetone's book: The Maffetone Method. There is also one called Training for Endurance but I think its out of print. Pretty much the same info.

New Scale Owner! wrote:[/b

As someone starting back at ground zero (yesterday's untimed three-miler included some walking), how can I most benefit from an HRM?

Put it in a drawer and just run for God's sake. It's not rocket science

I have been running for months at 70% max and have seen that pace gradually increase for the same exact heart rate. I then close out my 8 miles with a fast one, getting up over 80%, and I am also seeing recovery time from peak to resting improve. But yes- you have to run a lot slower than you would ordinarily consciously do without the HRM.

MarathonMind wrote:... yes- you have to run a lot slower than you would ordinarily consciously do without the HRM.

The HRM is a very helpful tool in learning what easy and moderate efforts really should feel like. However, if you are really starting from scratch-zero-overweight, then the HRM might be a bit discouraging (or more than a bit). No run will feel easy, no matter the HR number. I'd use it judiciously at first. The main thing is to get out and run without a thought about pace, until you stop huffing and puffing and feeling like death and having to walk on three-mile runs.

I find that when I start back from scratch it takes a few weeks of feeling horrible and having to push through it before I begin to feel like I'm ready to think about being a runner again. At that point an HRM would be very helpful in keeping your enthusiasm in check with reality.

The other thing is that the standard '220 minus age is your HR Max' is a very broad and inaccurate measure of your real maximum. Mine is WAY higher than that, and I believe Pete has said his is a fair bit lower. It's very individual.

Dr. Smith wrote: ...the standard '220 minus age is your HR Max' is a very broad and inaccurate measure of your real maximum.

This is very true. Mine "should be" (according to the formula) 177, but it's mid-160s. Have a look at the graphs on pages 3 and 4 of this paper:

There's a HUGE amount of scatter in the HR versus age data. HUGE!

Pete wrote:

Only until you've optimized your aerobic fitness. After you've done that, what feels like a comfortable easy pace (and is close to the slower end of Daniels' E-pace) will be in the 70-75% range.

At this point do most runners find that they no longer need the HRM? If your aerobic fitness is near optimal, I would assume you would no longer need the HRM for regular aerobic runs?

/I guess my HRM is still in the mail. I've been trying to noticably keep my runs slow. Been making up new routes so I won't be able to try and guess mile splits. Excited to see what it will look like on the HRM.

New Scale Owner! wrote: At this point do most runners find that they no longer need the HRM? If your aerobic fitness is near optimal, I would assume you would no longer need the HRM for regular aerobic runs?

First of all, I guess nobody really NEEDS an HRM. But it can be useful to guide some parts of training (not just easy running). Personally, I almost never use an HRM on easy runs anymore because I know what "easy" feels like, and as a rule I don't try to force the pace on my easy days (if I were to check, my normal easy day effort is often close to 65-70% of HRmax, or less). Mind you, I'm in the process of recovering from a foot injury, so I've had it on the last few easy runs to see what's what as I work back to fitness.

It can take a while for a young or relatively inexperienced runner to get their easy effort (70-75% HRmax) up to a decent pace (close to Daniels' E-pace range, or within a minute or so of marathon pace). Maybe six months to a year, maybe more, maybe less. Depending on how they approach the training, I guess. Shouldn't take as long for a more experienced runner who has been very fit (aerobically) in the past.