Tips to Lower Your Heart Rate - MAF training

It feels nice to get your long run out of the way. I know I'm probably supposed to be loving the journey, or something like that, but running at an 11 min mile for 22 miles can be rough, especially if you do a mile of warmup prior to that.

The challenge today was running with my hydration vest again. It had been a while. I use the Ultraspire Spry, which is hands down my favorite vest for my size. I am 5'0" so some packs really weigh me down. This one packs a liter of water. I switched the original bladder to the Hydrapak 1 liter bladder, and it's got a much better straw and drinking valve. I generally don't like carrying extra weight, so I DO think this did effect my heart rate overall. I need to get used to wearing it, since I will want something for the race.

Thug Life Running. Me with my Ultraspire Spry vest.

I've found that with these super long runs, my heart rate inevitably goes past my MAF (Maximum Aerobic Function) hr of 149. I am sure that in order to achieve that, I would have to break down to a walk, and you know what...I think it's okay for me to push past that at a certain point as long as I don't go wild. Today I allowed my heart rate to get up to 165 toward the end. Keep in mind that I'm still doing an 11 min mile, and my breathing is still completely unlabored and slow. Five slow breaths in, four out - each breath going with every foot step.

Whoops, hr really spiked in the 2nd half. I blame the nut butter! and the sun!

Yeah I know, I'm making up my own rules, but it seems to be working alright for me so far. I do try to keep the first half at MAF pace.  

It's hard to measure my progress because my very first two MAF runs were at a 10:30 min mile. Granted, I was doing less than half the mileage. After those two runs, my paces took a sharp decline due to numerous things like being sore from horseback riding, or sick with food poisoning. Recently my weekly runs are back to averaging a 10:30 min mile, and my long runs are also getting slightly faster. Knowing that I'm steadily increasing my mileage, I think I am improving even though it's a little difficult to tell. I have not been doing the Maffetone tests, because I keep running the same route anyway so I think it's fine to just see the improvement over time.

Random photo for your viewing pleasure.

I have learned a few things that help me keep my heart rate down somewhat. I'll list them out for you, and hopefully they can help improve your runs.

• Deep Breathing. As soon as you find your breathing start to get shallow, stand tall and really open up those lungs with a big slow breath in, and then slowly breathe it out. I find that the yoga style of breathing where you breathe in through your nose and really feel your stomach expand, and then breathe out through your mouth...even with a slight breathy noise, it will help.
• Meditation. Stop thinking. Once I start to think about things, I notice my heart rate will go up. Work, miles, plans, JUST STOP IT! If I get distracted by birds swooping around, I notice that my heart rate will instantly go down a couple of beats. You can also mentally chant a calming mantra, and that will help clear the brain.
• Stand Tall. Seriously, it will help with the deep breathing and your running overall. Imagine a string at the top of your head pulling you up.
• Eliminate Unnecessary Annoyances. You want the run to be as smooth as possible, so if you have anything that's bothering you such as a flapping jacket or a watch that's too tight, fix it. It's worth the extra 30 seconds of time, trust me. Also, eliminate any extra weight that isn't necessary. If you can get away without a water pack by using some fountains along the way, that's ideal, unless you will need it for training and mimicking your race day.
• Drink Water. I just started doing this...I was never the best at hydrating properly, but I did find that drinking cool water did help bring my heart rate down. 
• Avoid Upbeat Music. It won't help. I tend to listen to podcasts or will just turn it off to tune out.

I think that's about all I can think of for now, but I'll be sure to mention it if I find anything ground breaking.

Maybe you noticed, but I switched my long run weekends, so that my easy week is NEXT week, so I'm hoping to see some faster times in the couple of upcoming weeks. 

I ended up switching back to my Altra Olympus' because the one 8 mile run with my new Hoka Valors left me with an unusually achy left leg afterward. I'm not sure what that was about, it didn't feel like an injury, more of a blood flow problem. I rolled it out, slept hard and was fine the next day, but I'm going to ease into these shoes. They felt great at the time, with no issues. I'll keep you updated.

Hm, well that seems to be about it! The diet hasn't changed much except I have REALLY been getting into eating omelets. Like, a lot. I also ate some of Justin's Chocolate Hazelnut Almond nut butter for my mid run snack, and it seems to be just dandy. Maybe even better than the Pocket Fuel, and slightly less sugar. Honestly, I'm not even sure if I need to eat at this point, but it can't hurt. 

Another masterpiece of an omelet made by Jon. Goat cheese, spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers!