Getting Ready for the MS150

The muscle pain in my lower leg after Wednesdays quick run reminded me that I really should be preparing for the MS150, which is April 12-13. So I did.

24.8 mile Thursday evening solo ride in Terry Hershey/George Bush Park at 17.7mph and 136 avg HR.
67.4 mile Good Friday solo ride across Lynchburg Ferry/Fred Hartman Bridge/Kemah Bridge at 16.6mph and 132 avg HR.

Tiggs asked about HR training. It is true that I did one month of low heart rate training in June of 2006. I also keep an eye on my heart rate, especially when running, as it is pretty accurate to tell me how I'm doing.

So what is low heart rate training? You run for six weeks and never let your heart rate go above an easy level. In long runs or on hills, if you have to walk, you walk. Your speed is irrelevent, you work out only to the heart rate. Each persons heart rate zones are different. For me, I have simplified them into the following estimations, which work well enough for me:

Max HR 185
Lactate Threshold 160 (above this I am anaerobic for sure)
Tempo Pace 150 - 160 (about 10k to half marathon pace)
Endurance Pace 140 - 150 (about predicted marathon race pace)
Overdistance Pace 130 -140 (long training run pace)
Low HR Easy 130 or below

So for the low HR period I tried to run no faster than 130HR. Can't say this approach helped me any. When I go out for a run, I think about what intensity I want to run based on the above table for me. Then I usually keep my pace or at least the average in the target zone. If you want your own table, start with your max HR, approximate the above for you based on percentage of max HR, and go see if you can validate the levels in your training. Tweak as needed.

Best approach to running for me has been to lose weight. The more I lose the faster I get. Direct correlation. No surprise.