Good long run yesterday with negative splits in awful conditions. Just interested if you are running within a given pace range for each type of run, or HR if you don't mind me asking.
Depends on the run. For recovery runs, I try to keep my HR at/below 146, which is around 70% using the Kevorian formula. That usually puts me in the McMillan Recovery jog pace zone, although towards the faster end.
For most other runs, I use the McMillan pace zone, but also use effort and HR as feedback to make sure they're not overly difficult. For example, I've found that his "Easy" run paces are on the hard side of Easy for me, so I'll make sure my HR doesn't get too far north of 160. If it does, I'm probably overly fatigued from previous training and need to dial it down a bit. For long runs, I tend to now ignore HR unless it goes north of 170, since my HR *always* seems to be on the higher side of what is reasonable. For example, my first marathon, my avg HR was 170 (189 Max), which is supposed to be too high to maintain. So anyway, strict HR training doesn't work well for me.
So, given the rambling nature of my answer, here's the summary. Pace (based on McMillan) is the start point, supplemented with HR and effort feedback determine my pacing. Oh, and I've gotten into the habit of negative splitting on runs for 2 reasons. First, my normal run route is out and back, uphill on the outbound, downhill on the return. More importantly, after fading badly in my first marathon and most of the long runs leading up to that one and the next, I decided that enough was enough and I needed to train myself to finish strong. This was around the same time I punted on strict HR training, which allowed me to finish strong (and out of the normal long run HR zones).
Me thinks its answered rather well. The negative splitting is an excellent habit and one I would be good to practise, I usually have an uphill at the end though. I'm a little dubious about HR training. I've borrowed one to try and found on good uphills my heartrate was far higher than the HR set zones but I was comfortable with the pace. Downhill the opposite, I could be flatout and yet the HR monitor would be peeping again as I was not working hard enough. Recovery runs I can see the advantage though as it's easy to push too hard.
That happens to me as well. My HR is higher even though I'm taking it easier on the uphill stretches, and lower on the downs. I always run with the HR strap though, just to keep a record of the run average HR for comparison with runs of the same length over time. I guess I should also mention (although sounds like you do this too already) that by pace I mean my average run pace. On the outbound of easy runs, I'm 30-45 seconds slower, and opposite on the downhill, to arrive at an average pace in the McMillan zones. So I probably use effort more than pace, but they're all kinda mixed together for me.
From Sasha Pachev on Mon, Dec 31, 2007 at 13:14:49
Standard HR zone is a very approximate measure of effort. I would go as far as to say, completely useless. HR is very individual in a lot of ways - individual qualities, fitness level, weather conditions, hydration level, etc. Add HRM errors on top of that.
HR should be used for observation only, but not for decision making. Even a novice runner should be taught from the start to run by feel vs. HR. If you can talk well enough to tell your life story and discuss current events for which you have a strong opinion and have lots to say, then the pace is easy enough to be a recovery/base building run. If it is relaxed and brisk, but you are down to monosyllables, it is marathon pace. If you are breathing pretty hard, but your legs are not getting heavier as you go, it is threshold. If after running a mile you are starting to hurt pretty bad, you are in the VO2 Max zone.
How would you classify the pace between "life story" and "monosyllables"? I'm talking about the effort zone where you can get full sentences out (not compound but simple), but you need a couple of breaths before the next one starts. Is that your "Easy"?
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