Remember
this post, regarding fat as fuel? Well, Dr. Phil Maffetone...
 |
| Insert Glamor Shot here |
ha--he should totally be on
Arrested Development.
...also has something to say about training for endurance sports. Basically, he argues that we do a lot of harm by running our mileage in a weird in-between place that wavers between recruiting our aerobic AND our anaerobic systems. This inhibits the training of each, and because it is inefficient, we don't progress like we should with either system.
Instead, he offers a formula for determining an individual aerobic threshold (a heart rate) that stands for the maximum amount of beats per minute your heart can do while staying aerobic. From his website:
Calculate Your Own Maximum Aerobic Training Heart Rate
To find your maximum aerobic training heart rate, there are two important steps. First, subtract your age from 180. Next, find the best category for your present state of fitness and health, and make the appropriate adjustments:
1. Subtract your age from 180.
2. Modify this number by selecting among the following categories the one that best matches your fitness and health profile:
a. If you have or are recovering from a major illness (heart disease, any operation or hospital stay, etc.) or are on any regular medication, subtract an additional 10.
b. If you are injured, have regressed in training or competition, get more than two colds or bouts of flu per year, have allergies or asthma, or if you have been inconsistent or are just getting back into training, subtract an additional 5.
c. If you have been training consistently (at least four times weekly) for up to two years without any of the problems just mentioned, keep the number (180–age) the same.
d. If you have been training for more than two years without any of the problems listed above, and have made progress in competition without injury, add 5.
My number is 156 bpm--derived from 180 - 29 (years old) and I am in category "d" so 151 + 5 = 156.
In this example, 156 will be the highest heart rate for all training. This is highly aerobic, allowing you to most efficiently build an aerobic base. Training above this heart rate rapidly incorporates anaerobic function, exemplified by a shift to burning more sugar and less fat for fuel.
Because endurance sports, and especially ultra-running, require very little anaerobic work, but literally HOURS of aerobic work, Maffetone says that we should limit our speedwork (anaerobic workouts) and basically train up to, but not above, our beats per minute (aerobic threshold) number. This also helps develop maximum efficiency. He does see merit in some speedplay, but he says it should be dedicated, anaerobic speedwork, and it should be used to change up the gears every now and again if your progress is stymied.
The coolest part about this, in my opinion, is a 5 mile test that serves as a very real measure of your present fitness level. This test is really simple. Run five miles on the track at as close to that aerobic threshold number (156 for me) as you can. If you have consistently run most of your miles in training (between tests) without exceeding this heartrate, Maffetone says that over time, the test will reveal that you can run faster while maintaining the exact same heart rate. People report crazy improvements--like going from 8 minute pace for 5 miles on the track when running at the aerobic limit, to running 5 minute pace AT THE SAME HEART RATE. Now that's fitness gain you can literally see!
I'll try it for a few months and see how it goes. I've been running with a heart rate monitor this past week (kind of annoying, but how else are you gonna know what kinda work your motor's doing?) and it's gone pretty well. It's not that annoying and it syncs up nicely with my Suunto Ambit.
Here are the results from my 1st Maffetone test, the BASELINE:
Day: Saturday, June 8th
Resting HR: 46 bpm
Temperature: 78 degrees
Time: 2:19pm
Conditions: Very sunny, windy, and a high pollen count
Track: ATA
Other potential variables: 6-pack of beer the night before : ) ; Lewis was running it too, just in front of me
Over-all time to complete 5 miles : 35:29 (7:06 pace)
Average HR : 154 bpm (-2 off my number)
Peak HR : 158 bpm
Mile 1: 6:53
Mile 2: 7:01
Mile 3: 7:03
Mile 4: 7:12
Mile 5: 7:17 *
*Maffetone says if you do it right, your pace will slow over the five miles--so I guess that's a good thing.
The pace felt pretty comfortable--not a tempo run, but I was working a bit. I could keep up a conversation, but not super easily. I've noticed in training with this threshold in mind over the past week, I'm not really having to slow myself down to stay under the number (apparently this is common for people who just get on the program). Maybe that means I was already kind of favoring my aerobic zone? This could explain why I've been getting faster and feeling better, despite a winter where I did tons of hiking up steep terrain. In 2011 at the Portland Marathon, 7:00 pace fresh and tapered (and on a cool day) was just below red line and it caused me to totally blow up. Now it feels really aerobic and quite manageable. Maybe without trying to train to qualify for Boston (sub 3:05), I actually have developed the fitness to do it.
Anyway, it's been a new variable to look at (heart rate), and I'm excited to see how I do when I test again. OH YEA, and (as if you needed another reason) you're more likely to burn fat instead of sugar when you work in your aerobic zone--so your food is better able to act as fuel if you're eating more fats and protein (and less refined carbohydrates). Plus you're doing more work to train your body to utilize fat as energy.
