This low hr slow running is a pain: an hour and forty minutes to do just over 10k ffs! Absolutely knackered too; I really doubt if I could have done another 11k today ... utterly failed to stay in zone 2, where is where I should have been for the whole run. I think that was partly the heat, partly tiredness and partly (unconfirmed suspicion here) because of drinking electrolytes. My legs were heavy and most of the run was a slog. Legs are also stiff , like I used to get when I got off a horse when I hadn’t ridden for a while.
However ... another sunny, lovely autumn day. I had butterflies flitting around me on and off. I’m still exploring the amazing network of footpaths and cycle tracks that criss-cross the housing estates here. I found myself diving into copses and woods and across heath land, bang in the middle of the huge Peachcroft estate. A woman walking her two little dogs admired my Sturdy by Design Comic Book capris. They were much needed today as it was really hot. I also wore my British Heart Foundation T-shirt, only to cross paths on three separate occasions with other runners wearing BHF T-shirt’s too. I guess a lot of us have done the Blenheim runs.
Rest day tomorrow. I’m getting tired and will be glad to start tapering at the end of the month.
I wonder how dearest Sadie is doing with her half marathon.
I hated today's long run Flick. I have forgotten how hard zone 2 is especially in the heat and today was extra tough for some reason. I struggled to stay in zone 2 and I was sposed to for my first hour of my run. I nearly gave up today! The gremlins are hitting and my niggly heel gives me permission for an out! But I pushed on until zone 3 and I was ok. This heat and zone 2 does not work! It is tough. That's not a bad distance covered in such a slow zone though Flick. I'm fairly sure electrolytes make my heartrate spike too, I know the gels did! I'm hoping this lovely weather disappears before we run our runs! Although on the day adrenaline and pure grit will keep us going lovely lady. Xx
You too lovely?! Zone 3 is so much easier! I wanted to give up too, i really did, especially at the beginning and end of the run. Nothing in the tank and everything hurts! About 10 degrees would be the ideal temp for race day: not too freezing before the start, but not too hot underway. xx
Yes 10 degrees sounds fab. I am even happy with drizzly rain but heat is not my friend! I had forgotten how hard zone 2 is, most of my recent runs, on the plan and off were in zone 3 so to suddenly run an hour in zone 2 again was tough! I'm not sure I will go near zone 2 on the day..... adrenaline and nerves might make it impossible?!
You didn't give up though. That's what makes any training run a good run as when it gets tough on race day you can remember how you struggled and survived before! Xx
You have done way more than me too Flick. I only run 3 times a week. A lot of my zone 3 was my own extra runs. Polar had a fit and said I was overtraining in zone 3 lol. Zone 2 is the zone that's sposed to make you faster..... run slow to run fast. Every long run set by Polar for me is an hour zone 2 then an hour zone 3 plus. I just ran all in zone 3 when I was aiming for 30k to give me a sense of time for the day.
I do find it odd how my plan hasn't deviated much though. I also haven't fiddled too much though. I will with my half training, I will input my data and details very carefully! I'm very interested in getting a test to find my max heartrate so my zones are accurate too. Xx
I put in my max hr from my runs, now at 180 as that was absolutely pushing myself on hills and hasn’t happened very often. Short of a lab test or a field test running repeats up a steep hill till you drop, that’s the closest I can get.
I’ve got a friend who has just done some sort of marathon up Snowdon, 5000 feet ascent xx
Mine doesn’t but I think it still raises my hr. this makes sense. I was told by someone on another forum that she’d been told to drink electrolytes to raise blood pressure because, like me, hers was low and made her feel faint sometimes.
Well done Hidden , I sometimes find the pace of the speed podcast slow and I do find it more tiring running slower than my natural pace...you’re doing so well, I’m not surprised you’re getting tired! You’re def made of stronger stuff than me xxx
I’ve been looking out for Sadie-runs post too...and her stats on strava....I hope she’s ok and just been quietly resting xxx
My fastest 10k was a hilly race at Blenheim: 83 minutes. I was average well below 9min/km though. I've done it in 32.5 on the treadmill. so not much different to you. and Thank younxxx
Looking at your stats I've just realised that your zones are based on % max HR where mine are % HRR (which is percentage Heart Rate Reserve). That's the difference between resting rate and max heart rate. I expect you know that but other VRB's may not.
My zone 1 is from 117 bpm to 130 bpm. If I used the Polar system I wouldn't get much above a brisk walk.
I take my hat off to your discipline Flick but I would have gone nuts very quickly.
Ah, I've set the zones to max hr 180, which is just below my bpm when pushing really hard. It feels right. i still have to focus to stay in zones 1&2, can reach and maintain zone 4 but am pushing, and zone 5 is flat out - I think that's pretty much right.
Haha, yes, I've had my nuts moments, but it isn't too bad now. the idea is that as you get fitter you get faster in lower zones, and that seems to be working out for me slowly.
Crikey, your system outs the lower zones really high. I'm not sure i would be ableto get up into zone 4 for long using that.
It's so good hearing from others with heartrate experience. What would you run on race day? I train in zone 2 and 3 so I'm thinking zone 3 and then maybe zone 4?
I use HR for training sometimes but on an event (can't really call myself a racer) I use the virtual partner and set it at the pace I want to run at. I don't look at time or distance or HR, just concentrate on putting one foot in front of the other.
Thanks for this info SlowLoris - really useful. I tried running to Heart Rate at parkrun yesterday as an experiment and didn't get on very well at all!
I was aiming for Garmin's calculation of my zone 3 and as soon as I went more than a very light jog I found myself in zone 4. I ended up coming in about 3 mins slower than what I would consider an easy pace effort. I don't think there's any way I could do anything more than a brisk walk in what it gives me for zone 2. I've just done a few calculations using HRR and the figures seem much more realistic for the lower zones.
Am I correct in assuming that zone 1 is still 50-60%, zone 2 60-70% etc?
Garmin uses 220 minus age, which is way way too low! thats for the hr zones i use. It might have been the lovely Mr Loris, but can't remember, who said take your highest hr from runs - when you were flat out - and use that as max hr.
Thanks Flick I'd already upped my max HR to 200 but zones 1 and 2 were still too slow for me to do anything other than brisk walking. Have just readjusted the numbers in Garmin Connect but it was a right faff! Ended up having to put my max HR in as 220 for it to accept high enough numbers in the low zones. Off out in a minute to (hopefully!!) do 15 miles - should be a good test as I definitely won't be going fast 😂
The point of it is that it’s hard to run in the lower zones, if at all, to begin with but the training gives you stamina and endurance so that you eventually run at a faster pace in a lower zone. I was practically walking to begin with, but it’s working and I’m quite a bit faster in zone 2. To get really good at it takes months.
Just back from my 15 miler and it looks the HR zones that I've set match up with the Garmin descriptions.
My endurance is really bad though! I'm fine to 10 miles but then my legs start to hurt so much it becomes pretty impossible to run! Also I get really dizzy. Think it might be to do with fuelling rather than heart rate though so I won't high jack your post xx
Hijack as much as you want- it’s all a learning curve for all of us.
When I did my 10mile plus run in the heat, I took a litre of Tailwind and a nakd energy bar. I didn’t get dizzy or faint. Last year I suffered a lot from faintness after longer runs. Fuelling is definitely a factor for me. My feet hurt but my legs not so much. I’ve learned not to lace so tightly with the feet. Xx
Thank you 😊 I’m looking forward to tapering. I can only assume the plan is designed to get me to a certain point at a certain time. It adjusts as you go along, using your running stats, and reviews every four weeks. If you aren’t coping it asks if you want to throttle back. As it hasn’t asked, I’m assuming I’m doing ok and am where I should be.
I hope so too. I can only say that, except for now being tired, I’m fitter than I’ve been for 20 years, have no procrastination whatsoever about getting out and running, can run any time, day or night and have lost my inherent lethargy, so I guess something must be working: I just hope it gets me round on the day!!!
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