My Maffetone Experiment

The month of may turned out to be a quantum leap in terms of mileage. My pace remains slow but has imprved substantially over the last 3 months.

The main difference between my running this year and that of last year is my ever-present fear of being re-injured.

Recently, I discovered the Maffetone system for endurance training which incorporates low heart rate training to improve aerobic fitness. The FAQ on this method provided a perfect description of me in the following statements regarding runners with poor aerobic fitness:

1. I am incapable of running at low heart rates,
2. I have difficulty completing mylong training runs and my pace slows down in the last several miles, just in order to finish them.
3. I am completely shot at the end of my long training runs, or even your short runs.
4. I am sore most of the time and ... plagued by minor injuries frequently, or get sick quite often.
5. My race times are not improving
6. I am very reliant on carbohydrates to get you through training runs.

These statements were written generically in the FAQs provided by Jesse Leitner and at coolrunning.com, but it's almost as though it applies specifically to me.

So I've decided to try slowing down and seeing if it will help me to speed up.

The Maffetone method indicates that I should run at a maximum HR of 180-40-5 which is 135 BPM. Rather slow when you consider that my running since march has been at an average HR of 159-160 BPM.

My book on the Maffetone Method arrives today. I can hardly wait.

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A good month

A few words about the month of May seem appropriate. This is the third month of my running comeback. There are so many things I'm doing differently this time around and they appear to be making a difference in my overall fitness and commitment to training.

First and foremost is my paranoia regarding getting re-injured. I realized that a large portion of my running prior to both of my injuries last season had the same formula. Run hard for multiple days in a row for short mileage, break down, become discouraged. Stop running for a long period of time. Start running hard again and repeat the cycle.

After my knees went bad on me last Fall and the doctor told me he thought it was early osteoarthritis I thought I was through with running.

However, thanks to chondroitin and glucosamine and a little patience I slowly came back.

So what do I have to show for it?

Two straight months of 60+ miles.

Longer weekday runs.

Two consecutive 20+ mile weeks for the first time since I took up running again.

And most importantly no injuries and more energy. I know this will sound repetitive due to the multiple false-starts announced on this Blog regarding comebacks...

But this time I think I'm on the right track.
Sent from Onyeije's Verizon Wireless BlackBerry