i was lapped by a walker! more maf talk.

migangelo

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Jun 5, 2010
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portland, or
i did my maf test for the month fairly early this morning since this is the hottest weekend of the year so far. of course heat raises your hr and i know this. i left the dog at home because i can't stand watching him chase me around the track plus it would be too hot for him. i can't get a good test and take care of him.

so i take the outside lane and see a few more of the usual joggers, most with bad form. as i'm going i get passed by a guy walking. i said walking! not power walking. not speed walking. no headphones. just walking. it took a mile and then he lapped me! it's so damn frustrating.

the only good thing is my time is slightly faster than last month. if i got slower i was going to add in speed work and weights to get me ready for the warrior dash next month. i know i have enough strength to clear all the obstacles so i think i will just continue with the painfully slow runs and then blow it all for the race.

if i didn't know before hand what i was getting into i would've given up on this training when i started. i better damn well see a huge drop in my time come fall/winter.

oh, the times are too depressing for me to own up to them so don't ask. getting lapped by a walker should tell you enough.
 
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I have a good idea of your normal times having run with you numerous times. Have you thought about running more hills? Doing some fartleks out on the trail? Hill repeats? Actually stopping Maf for a month or two and just doing some harder but shorter runs with maybe one longer run a week at a slow Maf pace? Today was a bad idea for you to try to take the Maf pace. It was 80+ F this morning when I cancelled my run at 10am. 20 degrees warmer than normal. Was not a good idea for your Maf test. Right now at almost 2 it's 96 F. Looks like it should cool back down on Wednesday so maybe you can retake your Maf test you won't be so depressed about your times.
 
the times aren't depressing as much as how slow i have to go to stay in my maf zone. i read mark allen's book last month. he said summer was the hardest time as well. you have to slow down even more because of the heat but when it cools down in the fall your times drop dramatically.

i am running the trails a lot and hitting the hills. someone in another thread told me to avoid hills until my time dropped but it won't drop unless i add some challenge. i try really hard to keep my hr steady uphill and am noticing improvement. on the downhill i go as fast as my hr allows so i can teach my legs to turnover faster.

it's not much fun but it's still running and i can see some improvements so i will stick with it. plus i'm finally dropping some weight after putting on so much and making myself look prego again.
 
it's not much fun but it's still running and i can see some improvements so i will stick with it. plus i'm finally dropping some weight after putting on so much and making myself look prego again.
Hahaha! You've seen my new running videos right? Talk about a chubbo! I somehow appear to have gotten fatter despite losing weight... Or at least my perception of myself is that I'm fatter, maybe I'm not.
 
Oh, and it's good that you are happy with just running, even if it's slow. I am happy to be running too. You would really hate to run with me lately. Found a pretty dang good hill close to my house that is an a**kicker! I've yet to make it to the top without having to stop and walk, and that's with not worrying about my heartrate. You wouldn't make it 20 ft without having to stop from too high of a heartrate according to Maf.
 
did you see me when i got back? my stomach was huge! at least a friend pointed out to me that stress releases cortisol and that's likely why even though i was the same weight my stomach was much rounder.

good thing i have learned some new techniques to relieve stress. bad thing is come october i will live in a whole new world of stress.
 
Mike
I just finished my third month of MAF runs. I can definetly tell you it works. I do know the pain of getting passed by a walker. The MAF did improve my pace by 30secs or so but the best improvement was the reduced heart rate now while running. Good luck with your MAF work!
 
did you see me when i got back? my stomach was huge! at least a friend pointed out to me that stress releases cortisol and that's likely why even though i was the same weight my stomach was much rounder.

good thing i have learned some new techniques to relieve stress. bad thing is come october i will live in a whole new world of stress.

I think you are imagining this round stomach thing. Your stomach did not look any different when you got back!
 
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thanks all. i've been doing maf for a while now. i lost some of my base over the spring when i started racing and hitting hills harder and tempo runs. there was a small increase from this month to last but i will attribute that to the record heat.

i always run in the morning.

my stomach was much bigger whether or not you could tell, i could. especially when pants are all tighter. good thing is ive lost some 3 lbs and 2-3% bf in less than a week.
 
Hey Mike, I've on MAF for quite some time too, and have stuck with it even though it made me go really really slow at the beginning. When I was just starting to see some very good progress the summer heat came in and it just sent me back considerably. My times have gone up significantly, about 10-15% slower, and it is kind of depressing to be passed (again) by walkers. But I'll keep betting on this method (just as you I guess), since it has made me feel much better, has decreased my knee and calf random flare-ups and, best of all, has made me lose a lot of weight. So, as you also said, I'm expecting a good comeback to my previous times once the temperatures get colder here.
 
Sometimes I want a tshirt that says on the back: warning - running at a ridiculously low heart rate and speed on purpose

My ego is having a hard time with this MAF business, but I remind myself that since I started it in
May, I have had no injuries and have spent more time (albeit not miles) "running" each week. I'm trying to focus on the meditative aspects of my runs and dampen my competitive urges. And my times have been improving, though they are still not at what I would consider a normal running pace. (I'm lucky that don't have the heat you all are dealing with.)

My passed-by-a-walker equivalent was getting smoked by a white-haired, little old lady while barely running up a very long and steep hill. At first I was fairly resentful. But then I decided that I want to be her when I'm her age and focused on that.
 
I've given up on Maf. All the low hr training did for me was slow me down, and allow me to run longer distances, and then actually made it so I was physically unable to run as fast over a short distance (5k) as I was before starting Maf. Literally I am still unable to physically push myself hard enough. It's taken me the last month and a half or so just to get back to doing just ONE mile at my old pace from before Maf. I'm glad it works for a lot of you, but for me it did not help me with anything other than increasing distances.
 
jeez, someone can't keep her mouth shut.

Hello...let me remind you of your own quote, from the "Rated R" thread, where you announced to everyone:

"I had to go attack my friend with benefits."

Oh, yeah...now you remember. ;) I didn't have to say anything. :D
 
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