Been Hadd wrote:
I just finished about 6 months of my first foray into HR training.
It did turn out to be true that my pace increased at the lower heart rates after a few months.
Beware, heat can have a big effect on those figures.
Now that it is getting cooler, I am finding that 'easy' runs where I feel good and am moving fairly quickly are completed at about an average of 70 to 72% of HRmax whereas the same pace and effort in August averaged to 75-78% of HRmax.
Some of the change is improved fitness but a hotter day still adds some beats to a workout.
The best benefit of HR training for me has been to show that I am not working too hard - I tended to back off on easy days in the past if my breathing became audible or my effort became significant. Now I know that those days are often just at the higher end of the easy range.
Some good points in this post worth repeating. I never used to be a fan of HR training, but after seeing the benefit of avoiding injuries the last 5 months I don't go out without it.
The important thing to realise is that if you just start out training and try to stick with low HR at easy runs (like less than 140bpm) the pace just becomes ridiculously slow. It is only after 2 or more months of constant training that it really starts working due to your rest heart rate dropping, and your aerobic system improving. My max HR is about 180 to 185 (based on 39 years old + plus semi tested on hard runs / races), and a rest HR of 52, and I find an ave HR of 150 - 155 to be good for easy runs in coolish weather (fluctuate between 135 on down hills to 170 uphills). Warmer weather it take much more effort to sustain 150 to 155 bpm which can lead to tired legs and niggles developing, so then maybe tone it down to 148 to 150 ave.