After doing a 5.5 k run on Wednesday and reporting here, people recommended giving JuJu's magic plan to get to 10k.
I realised that I could fit in the first week's program with a short run tonight, having done 35 mins on treadmill on Monday (5k-ish) the 5.5k on Wednesday, so this evening I decided to do the short run by revisiting the NHS C25k+ SPEED podcast.
Last time I did this, I was a stone heavier than I am today. It was SO MUCH EASIER this time round! Previous goes, I'd be longing for the fast intervals to end and really slow jogging for the slow bits, sometimes gasping for breath. Not tonight! This time I really felt I enjoyed the fast bits and the slow bits were a bit boring!
Was also the first outing for my new MyZone MZ3 heart rate monitor. I get the impression (as I have before with my Garmin Forerunner) that my max HR is a lot higher than the predicted figure. What the MyZone documentation says is that at 70-80% of maximum HR you are breathless but can manage to speak in four word bursts. That's about what I could do when the HR was at 160 bpm. Which would indicate if that's 80% of max that my max HR must be 200. The formula used by MyZone is 211-0.64xAge, which for me at 61 would be 171 beats per minute. This seems to be seriously out. If the max were 171 then at 160 bpm I'd be at 93% of max, and the documentation states you cannot sustain that rate for more than a few minutes, and that I should have been seriously bushed by the end. I've seen people at the end of Parkrun absolutely gasping for breath, but that hasn't happened to me. I was volunteering a couple of weeks ago handing out the finishing bar codes. One guy just stopped in the finish corridor and put hands on knees gasping for breath while people who finished behind him walked past! We had to make sure he got his token in the correct order.
Well, after these observations, I'm not going to take too many chances. My father died of a heart attack at 71, having had his first one at 58. (He was a lifelong smoker). Here am I, non-smoker at 61, but recently 4 stone overweight, and no heart attack. Touch wood. But not going to take too many chances! I'm sure getting to 10k is going to be quite a struggle, but Week 1 has been brilliant!
Written by
iain-strachan
Graduate10
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Well done... you’re on that road to the 10k and it’s a little easier than C25K.
Couple of issues with HR... firstly the formula is generic and so is almost certainly not a true max HR for anyone... as you’ve seen your reported HR and how that should have left you don’t tally. You could go and get an accurate assessment and put that figure into the Garmin for better HR zones. The other issue is that wrist based HR monitors sometimes (often) pick up on cadence and so their accuracy is dubious, the number on your wrist is a guide. There are chest strap monitors that are compatible with your watch that are much more accurate if you feel the need... the Garmin site will list them on your watch’s page under accessories.
You could do hill sprints to max your HR out, but as you’re concerned about family history a supervised assessment would be my choice, if you think you need one.
I tend to run to perceived effort... which is evident at the finish line and also during a run, so I don’t take any of the figures that my Garmin gives me as anything more than a guesstimate... the distance is also out most of the time, but that’s another story!
Yes, I'd heard that wrist monitors can pick up on cadence - but tonight I was wearing a chest strap, because I didn't trust the figures coming out of the Garmin. Also the Garmin has shown on occasion rates of 190 bpm and that's certainly not the cadence - it would appear from past runs that I naturally run at around 164.
The typical problem with the Garmin is that it would underestimate the HR drastically then suddenly jump up. The other day I did a really fast walk at lunchtime - around 4.5 mph. For the first ten minutes the Garmin said the HR was around 90. Then it suddenly jumped up to 130, which was a more realistic figure.
I think you're right that perceived effort is the way to go.
I might have a go at maxing out, probably with a supervisor. I'm pretty sure it was the smoking that killed my father (sadly). His elder brother was a non smoker, and despite being an asthmatic, lived to the grand old age of 95.
I’ve heard that tobacco smoking isn’t exactly good for the heart... so probably... sadly the generation before us didn’t have this information in time.
They had a heart specialist who also works the air ambulance in Free Weekly Timed a few weeks ago and part of the discussion was about running being safe as far as the heart was concerned... the doctor said that parkrun and the likes were certainly good for us... but he refused to say the same about marathons... logically this made a lot of sense to me as we are evolved to run for quite long distances, but marathons do push our limits somewhat.
I had some similar concerns relating to HR, having lost my Dad at 56, cause of death was actually a bleed on the brain however it was preceded by heart issues and I think the blood thinners played a big part in the end game. Also a heavy smoker for most of his life I am pretty sure that played a larger part in his early demise.
I easily exceed my supposed max HR frequently however having had heart tests in my 20s with stress related issues, they cleared my heart so I'm not too worried as I never feel any pain or discomfort and certainly am not gasping for breath like your chap mentioned.
I've adjusted my max HR in my various apps so that my zones etc all seem to be more in relation to actual effort.
I've contemplated going to chichester university to their sports science dept to take up their services where you can have multiple tests to give you reliable HR data, vo2max, lactate thresholds etc. I think if you're concerned something like that might be a good investment to give you peace of mind.
Very sad to lose your Dad at 56. It makes me feel grateful that I had him till 71.
I feel his heart issues were a combination of stress and smoking. There were three siblings - his younger sister lived to 85 and had no heart issues, and his elder brother lived to 95. All three siblings were very sporty. I've never been "sporty" in that sense, but given how much I'm enjoying running, maybe the potential is there for me. I've done SPEED about 4 times now - for the first three doing the fast intervals was a case of gritting one's teeth and hoping to get through it. But yesterday, it really felt for several like a surge of power.
I'll have a look at the Chichester Uni sports science dept.
Yea, 56 was hard. Many of the men in his family didn't see 65 so I think he was conscious of that too. It will be somewhat interesting to see how his brothers fare. My Dad was physically well but not particularly cardiovasculary fit, the smoking being a big negative factor along with high fat diet.
My mum only made it to 63, again smoking and in her case excessive alcohol consumption.
So for me it shouldn't be too hard to beat that but it's still there at the back of the mind 👎🏼
TBH it wasn't that much of a struggle doing C25K. Which was surprising, considering I was 4 stone overweight when I started back in May. The only problem I ran into was a knee injury after Week 9 Run 1. Did the run just fine but afterwards real stiff pain that made me limp. My GP diagnosed I was overpronating and told me to do the gait analysis thing and get some supportive shoes. Did that, got some lurid coloured Asics, and took a few weeks working back up to the time - the third practice/recuperation run I realised I'd run for 25 minutes, so reckoned it was time to finish Week 9.
I also looked up and started doing leg muscle strength exercises, as the doc said that the stronger your muscles are, the better they hold all the knee joints in place, so I started doing squats, wall-squats, lunges, hamstring and quad stretches on non-running days. Also leg-presses at the gym. When I put leggings on for cold weather running, they make me look like a blooming ballet dancer! My wife thinks it's hilarious.
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