MAFF Training

I know there are a few of us doing MAFF training out there...post any questions or thoughts about it here.

I'll throw one out there to start...when the heat increases in the summer I find it hard to track my MAFF pace from earlier when it was cooler outside. Anyone have any ideas how to keep on track since the increased heat slows you down?

 

Are you INSANE? Lol! What about all those MAFF threads...oh lord! Here we go! Lol!!!

 

If any of you are on Facebook, go like his page and read it! https://www.facebook.com/philip.maffetone?ref=ts&fref=ts He just posted an article about sugar. Got me thinking about sugar. I have a sweet tooth. I think it was in January of 2006 that I woke up one day and for six months straight I kept my daily sugar gram intake to 50 mg. That was HARD work. But I had a number of chronic health problems drop away during that time, that returned once I resumed my normal sugar intake.

 

Maybe insane since I do almost everything against the conventional wisdom weather its running , diet, or anything else etc! Maff's take on eating is borderline Paleo in my opinion but only borderline. I'm more interested in the running part and what other runners are doing with their Maff style running. I've never ever been on Facebook or any other thing like that.

 

all i know is the heat slows you down. no way around that.

 

At the moment, I don't seem to make any progress with Maff. There is the warmer weather for sure that turns some intended runs into slow walks.
But there was also this tooth infection which meant an overall higher heart rate than normal.

 

I'm adding in some tempo runs since I can't really tell if my speed is improving due to the heat....just for 6 - 8 weeks still fits into this training style just fine.

 

i just fully read TBBETR. in the heat of summer is a good time to go back into aerobic phase and recover from your spring races in preparation for your fall races. to put it simply cuz man he writes a lot.

 

That's a good book... my copy seems to stay loaned out and is hard to get back. I would probably follow that but I got started late this year...I'm about 4 or 5 months behind of where I want to be fitness wise. Fall will be my Spring this year. Last summer after I did a couple 4 -5 hour run/hikes in the afternoons I was adapted to the heat...not sure if I'll have time for that this summer.

 

I don't track my pace so much as my heart-rate. Last week on a warm dry day I ran 5 miles at 8 minute pace with an AHR of 122 (my unadjusted Maffetone rate). This evening I ran 5 miles at a 9 minute pace with the same AHR! I believe the difference in pace was caused by a 10C temperature increase and greatly increased humidity.
Most of my summer runs are gentle, particularly so in higher temperatures and humidity, with the occasional "pipe-cleaner" when conditions permit. By the time the cooler and drier weather starts in late September I'm ready to go as hard as I want!

 

what do you mean by "pipe cleaner"? i have an idea in mind and doubt your definition is the same as mine.

 

de-coking would be another term. A hard run just to see how it feels - or for as long as it feels good!

 

thanks. i thought that's what you were driving at but just wanted to be sure. my definition was definitely different.

 

Humidity kicks my butt big time! It affects me way more than it does most of my running friends. I can't get enough oxygen with all that water in the air, even when I adjust my breathing.

Also, I do not believe that the body is capable of "adjusting" to different climates within the human lifespan - I believe you are born with a certain physiological predisposition for certain climate adaptations -and that's what you get to work with.

 

I will argue against that Jen. I used to love the heat and never had problems. Now though it gets above 70 and I start swelling up and feeling miserable. My body most definitely changed and somehow being in a warmer climate has made me able to handle colder weather better...

 

I'm not sure that's right.

I spent the first 34 years of my life mostly in the UK, not a part of the world renowned for its high temperatures, when I moved to NYC (24 years ago) I found the summer heat and humidity utterly impossible - any air temperature over 27 or 28C and I was spread-eagled over an air-conditioner crying for Mummy! Since then I have definitely adapted - to the extent that 30C feels like a good Springtime temperature. At the other end of the scale I've not felt cold yet here!

 

TBBETR? I just ordered the Maff Method on my kindle. I'm interested, but have always had the impression I have to wear a heart monitor, which I don't think I can deal with. I already know my heart can be erratic and monitoring it during a run might stress me out. I don't need to be more aware of it's irregular beats.

 

TBBETR = The Big Book of Endurance Training & Racing

 

It won't change anything but it will give you a single number as an average at the end of your run. Keeping a note of that average would probably be helpful.

 

Does anyone have recommendations for a heart monitor, then?