Slow AF

Back in June I posted about my plan to slow down and train at a low heart rate (you can read about that here) and for the most part I've been sticking with it. Running this method has allowed me to maintain an average of 40+ miles per week without injury or burning out. I feel like it has really helped improve my overall endurance and got me through my first 50k without much trouble. I've enjoyed almost all of my runs, with the exception of the times that I have tried to run faster. Running at an average HR of 144 has gotten too comfortable and I've forgotten what it feels like to get uncomfortable and push myself. While there have been benefits to training this way and my average pace at aerobic HR has gone down a little, overall I feel like it has mostly just made me slow AF!

Sometimes I just want to go back to training without monitoring my HR and not trying to be so precise about everything. I used to just go out and run however I felt that day without a care or worry. My overall pace was between 7:45 - 8:15 for any given average run and it usually felt like work, but not like I was pushing the limit. Right now trying to run those paces feels like a real struggle.

It seems that the more technical I try to get with my training, the slower I've gotten. I can't even imagine coming close to my marathon PR of 3:26 from 2 years ago, or even the 3:34 marathon that I ran in May of this year.

But the science behind training at low intensity makes complete sense, therefore I will keep doing the majority of my running in the lower HR zones. However I have decided that it's time to add back in some speed and tempo workouts.

It's time to get comfortable with getting uncomfortable again!

In order to determine the HR zones I should be training in, today I ran a 30 minute time trial to identify my Lactic Threshold HR as outlined in Matt Fitzgerald's 80/20 Running book. It consisted of a 5 minute warm-up, followed by running as far as I could in 30 minutes while wearing my HR monitor.  He warned that it would be rather painful and it was! Your average HR during the last 10 minutes is your lactic threshold, mine was 181. My average pace for the 30 minutes was 7:41 and it felt hard, like I could not have held that pace any longer. It made me think how the F did I run an entire marathon at a 7:52 pace just 2 years ago and I wonder what my HR was during that?

I know I will never be an elite runner, and nobody else even gives two shits about how fast or slow I am, but I want to be better. When I first started running less than 7 years ago I wasn't very fast. It wasn't until I started adding speed-work that my pace started going down notably. I might not ever hit a new marathon PR but I know I can get close again. I'm ready to put in the work, now I just need to pick my next goal race!