Getting In The Zone – Heart Rate Training

With my approach to a more successful Marine Corp Marathon this fall, I am working on my training plan.  I already printed out my Jeff Galloway training plan for completing a marathon and filled in the dates going backwards from race day.  However, I also want to incorporate heart rate training into my plan this summer.  I was listening to two of my favorite podcasts, Another Mother Runner and Team Shenanigans, and they were both duscussing training plans in a way that I hadn’t really heard it explained before.

Dimity, from Another Mother Runner is training for an ultra with her coach Mary-Katherine “MK” Fleming, so she wanted to do so in a way that will help her be successful and also to avoid injury since she has been prone to injuries with her feet so frequently.  The Team Shenanigans podcast had Matt Fitzgerald on the show several times and he was talking about doing an 80/20 plan.  Meaning 80% of your runs are done at an easier exertion level, and then spend 20% of your training working on speed, whether that be cadence drills or track work.

For the last two weeks I have been doing the heart-rate training with my running.  With heart rate training the rule is to keep you heart rate below 140.  If it goes above 140 then you have to walk until it lowers.  The purpose for doing this during your training is to establish a solid cardiovascular base. Over time you will become faster but while in the training it is grueling because your pace is significantly slower.  Heart-rate training requires a lot of patience.  It teaches your body to convert fat instead of glucose for fuel.

So far, despite feeling much slower while running, I am doing pretty well with using a heart-rate monitor and training at around 140 bpm.  It’s hard because sometimes you easily jump up to 150; but it also syncs in well with my Jeff Galloway run/walk/run method.  When my heart rate is higher, it happens just about the time that my timer goes off for a walk break.  So my stats have been averaging around 140-144 bpm while running.

The Train Like A Mother Club is providing Heart-Rate Training Programs as well as a Stride Into Summer Plan so I may take advantage of those two plans to help me have a successful summer of training in preparation for the Marine Corps Marathon.