Women's Heart Rate Monitor

Running Program – Staying Motivated part one

Staying motivated in a long-term running program

As with any endeavour that is worthwhile, it takes a degree of dedication and a long-term outlook in order to start reaping benefits from heart rate monitor training.

There is a dual edged sword when it comes to running and any form of cardiovascular activity:

• It takes time to build up a good degree of cardiovascular fitness; and

• The fitness is lost very quickly during periods of complete inactivity

During training, you can measure your progress and tell how well you are doing.  Fitness gains tend to be pretty linear. You put the work in and you reap the rewards, slowly but surely you will improve and get fitter. There are no exceptions and this can be highly motivating if you approach it the right way.

The downside is that this fitness is lost at a much faster rate than it is gained.  It only takes two to three months to lose all of your fitness gains if you do no physical activity in that time. This is a horrible fact, and it can be very de-motivating. What has taken ages to build, is knocked down very rapidly. I’ve heard some people use this as an excuse to never even start taking up activity, among many other excuses. Well, that’s a different matter to the one I wish to discuss in this short series of articles. Instead, I want to talk to those people who have been exercising for a number of months or years and have no doubt about the benefits that regular exercise brings.

There are times where the motivation to continue training will suffer a blow. It likely happens to everybody in just about any activity that is continued over a long period of time, no matter how enjoyable they find that activity. It could be monotony with the routine itself, or it could be caused by outside factors beyond our control.

To get good at anything, we have to practice it repeatedly and diligently. Familiarity breeds contempt, and so the sheer repetitiveness can cause a level of boredom. In a nutshell, what started out as fun becomes a chore. Fortunately, there are a number of things we can do to prevent this from happening, or to regain our lost enthusiasm.

Common examples of things happening outside of our direct control are illness and injury. We only have limited control over these, by taking care of ourselves and avoiding over-training. However, we cannot prevent these from happening entirely. Then we see out fitness affected and suddenly we can become de-motivated from continuing with the routine.

I recently had a lay-off from running due to an injury and I was chomping at the bit to get running again – I couldn’t wait, but knew that I had to. Then, when had fully recovered and restarted training, my motivation soon suffered. This was at the time when I realised how much fitness I had lost and thought about how long it would take to simply regain the fitness to the point before the injury struck. I had already missed a much-anticipated race while injured, and now a future race was also in jeopardy. Since the fitness gains are very linear, there is a real limit as to how quickly the gains can come – and it wasn’t going to be quick enough to make improvements in my racing performance. I knew that any attempt to speed up matters by training harder or faster can easily result in further illness or injury. So, even though I enjoy the activity, suddenly it felt like a chore because I was having to repeat the same training that I had done months beforehand.  I found myself procrastinating about some runs that, ordinarily, I would be performing enthusiastically.  I found excuses to be doing things other than running.  Things that I didn’t enjoy anywhere near as much as running!

In my next article, I will discuss some of the techniques I use to regain lost motivation and stay motivated over the long-term.

Technorati Tags: cardiovascular, heart, Illness, injury, monitor, motivate, motivation, program, rate, Running, training

The Frustration Of Injury

It seems I never learn!  I have had repeated episodes of illness and injury over the last year that have really hampered my training and meant that I’ve had to bail on some races that I was really looking forward to.  Writing about my frustration is hopefully going to be therapy for me!

The problem is that illness and injury can affect you not just on race day itself, but also in the training during a running program that leads up to a race.  This is particularly likely when training for a long race, such as a marathon where you need months of preparation in order to be ready for the day of the race.  I have recently been struck by an injury which has curtailed my training early in my winter marathon training cycle.  I’m afraid that if i do not get going again very soon, then I will have to abandon my plans for the race almost before I gotten started!

I have to say, it is my own fault to a large extent on this occasion.  I went out for a planned 16 mile trail run that included a number of hills, and early on I felt a pain at the base of my left shin. I noticed it when the tongue of my training shoe pressed against my shin, just above the ankle. Nonetheless, I decided that it was not significant and continued on my run.  I felt it again at around 8 miles, but of course by then I had no practical alternative but to continue on the run, since I was now halfway around a loop course.  Most of the time during the run I didn’t really notice the pain and deemed it insignificant.

Later that night I became aware that the pain was growing in intensity, and was worse when I descended stairs and put additional pressure on that area.  Then the following day I was reduced to hobbling around. Nonetheless, I still didn’t think it would be a great concern.  I applied an ice-pack and took some Ibuprofen to help ease the swelling that was becoming more evident, but the pain got worse and the swelling increased and I could feel a crunchy feeling whenever I flexed and contracted my foot.  It felt a bit like water being squeezed through a narrow tube.

At this point I decided that I had better see the doctor, who diagnosed it as Tenosynovitis and said that the only option was rest and definitely no running!  He was at least sympathetic to my cause, being a runner himself.  I didn’t want sympathy though – I wanted a quick fix so that I could get cracking-on with my marathon running program!  It wasn’t to be, and as a result I had to completely curtail  my marathon training.

About a week later my leg felt much better, and I was chomping at the bit to get going again.  I was also concerned that my lack of activity would result in a return of my migraine headaches, so I tried a gentle three-mile run to ease back into training.  Unfortunately, this aggravated the injury once more and later that evening I could feel the crunchiness returning with a slight pain. So I was reluctantly back to resting the leg and taking anti-inflammatory medication to try to undo the additional damage.

Another week passed and  I again experimented with an easy run, though this time I started with only two miles and even slower running.  I rested the following day, even though the shin was feeling fine, as I was desperate not to cause even worse problems.  Then I ran three miles on my next outing, followed by another day of rest.  So far, so good.  I will continue the build-up as far as I can and as fast as I dare!

I feel like I am walking a tightrope at the moment.  I do not want to cause more lasting damage that will stop me running, but I also would dearly like to make it to the starting line of my planned winter marathon.  Only time will tell if I get the balancing act right.  If I have to miss out on the race, then so be it.  I’ll have to move on, though I can’t pretend that I won’t be disappointed.

Technorati Tags: headache, injury, marathon, migraine, Running Program, tenosynovitis, training

Should I wear my women’s heart rate monitor while racing?

The glib answer to the question would be “Sure, if you want to!“. It is certainly not against any rules to wear your heart rate monitor during a race. I’ve heard some people describe it as “cheating“, but frankly this is ridiculous view. A heart rate monitor cannot and does not enhance your performance, it simply monitors your heart rate. If it really was an unfair advantage, then you would surely have to extend the argument and ban the advantage from training too?

So, given that there is no reason why you cannot wear the monitor, let’s consider the pro’s and con’s of wearing it during a race.

Advantages

• Monitoring your heart rate can ensure that you do not start off at an excessively fast pace. Running just ten percent too fast can destroy a marathon attempt. How would you know that you are working a little too hard without some form of monitoring?

• During the race it can help you to maintain an even effort. You could adjust your pace on uphills and downhills to maintain a consistent heart rate.

• You can improve your chances of finishing a long race by controlling your effort, rather than trusting your instincts on the day.

• You can review what went right/wrong in the race afterwards, which can help improve future training plans. Did you finish strongly? Did you really maintain an even effort throughout the race?

• Your pace will be adjusted to compensate for environmental factors and the topography of an unknown course. The weather and temperature can have a profound effect on your heart rate.

Disadvantages

• While the monitor strap may be comfortable enough for a short race, it could lead to chafing and soreness during longer runs. It would be wise to wear the chest strap during your training runs to ensure that you will not have any surprises in your target race.

• You could become a slave to the monitor. You could spend more time looking at your watch than enjoying the experience of racing.

• Your heart rate during competition will be affected by race-day nerves and excitement. This should settle more in a longer race.

Assuming you decide to wear your heart rate monitor in a race, then what heart rate should you be aiming for? If you have been following my other articles on heart rate monitor training, then you will run your recovery runs under 70% MHR. This is so that you can run daily and maintain your glycogen levels for harder training, and of course to be prepared for a target race. Now that you are about to run the race, then you will run at a faster pace. The maximum target heart rate would depend on the race distance and your running experience.

A very short race of up to a mile could be run at 98% MHR. However, a more realistic marathon target would be 75% MHR – just a little faster than your typical recovery run. In fact, for a first time marathon it would probably be wise to keep to your recovery rate (70% MHR) until you have covered around 20 miles, then consider increasing pace for the end of the marathon. This way you would be more likely to finish the race with a smile! For races of other distances, the heart rate should unsurprisingly fall between these extremes. Say 80% MHR for a half-marathon, 85% MHR for a 10K and 90% MHR for a 5K.

In spite of wearing a monitor, it is easy to make the mistake of believing that you can run at a higher heart rate than you have planned. You may feel great during the early miles and convince yourself that a “few beats” faster heart rate will not matter. Unfortunately, I know from experience that payback is likely in the latter stages of the race. I have struggled during the last miles of a number of races where I have simply set out too fast because I felt good. Believe me, it is more enjoyable to finish strongly than to finish slowly! It is no coincidence that I subsequently run a course faster overall when I consciously slow down in the early miles. It is fun to sprint past people who are crawling to the finish line, it is not so much fun to end a race like a zombie.

Having finished the race, you can use the experience to adjust what you do in a future race. For example, if you finished a marathon feeling great having maintained a 70% MHR, then perhaps you could consider running closer to 75%MHR in your next effort.

Technorati Tags: women's heart rate monitor monitoring race racing running

Running Program – Mind Games

In any long-term running program it is inevitable that there will be days where you will simply not want to do the scheduled run.  Today was such a day for me.

It was the day of my weekly long run, and I awoke early to do a pre-breakfast run. I was dressed and rearing to go when my son awoke crying from a nightmare. No amount of comforting would get him back to sleep, so reluctantly I got changed and sat down with him to eat breakfast and watch TV for a while.

I don’t know exactly why, but when it came to restarting the run a couple of hours later, I just didn’t feel as ready as I had done first thing in the morning. I had a bit of a tickle in the throat, so maybe I was coming down with a cold? Maybe my breakfast hadn’t settled? Who knows. I put it to the back of my mind and began the run.

I had planned to do nine miles at recovery pace. The run was going fine at the half-mile mark, but by the end of the first mile I believed that I was some twenty seconds or more behind my previous time! I was convinced that I had slowed down at a much faster rate than normal. Damn – I must be coming down with a cold! I thought. During the second mile I was debating the wisdom of running the full nine miles. Potentially it could weaken my immune system and make me more likely to come down with a much worse cold. At this point I decided to see how I felt at the end of four miles. If I still felt under-the-weather I would call it a day.

Over the next couple of miles my mind was wavering. Although I believed I was slower, I actually didn’t feel as bad as I had earlier in the run. At the fourth mile, I wasn’t quite sure, but I seemed to be maintaining a reasonable pace and perhaps was making up a bit of time? OK then, let’s see how I feel at six miles.

I was feeling more comfortable, if a little tired as I was approaching six miles. If I was slower than usual, it certainly wasn’t by much. It would be a shame to miss out on a reasonable length run, so I would carry on until seven miles and finish there, only two miles short of my planned distance. This would mean that I would not have to change my schedule for future runs.

My pace was maintained comfortably throughout the seventh mile. If anything, I was feeling better now than at any point earlier in the run. Great! Another mile would mean that I had barely changed my scheduled run. So I continued. In fact, I continued past the eight mile mark. I only had another mile to go to complete the scheduled distance, and it no longer mattered if it was slower than hoped. To run nine miles in the future I would have to start all over again, whereas now I was less than a mile away from the distance. It would be pointless to stop.

So in the end I completed my original target distance. What’s more, I subsequently discovered that I had in fact been running slightly faster than in previous recovery runs! In hindsight, I think I was confusing my progress with a faster Tempo run, and not a recovery run. All the negative feelings were in my head. I would have been kicking myself all week had I abandoned that run.

This was a reminder to me that some of my best runs have happened on days when I least felt like running. Also, I often find that the first mile or so can feel worse than the subsequent miles. Thus, it is not a good idea to make any decisions about abandoning a run until around the two mile mark. If the idea of a long run feels dreadful, then the promise that I’ll stop once I’ve reached a shorter goal can be enough to keep me going.  It’s a simple mind game, but it works.

The most important thing is to get started. It is easy to miss a training run if I don’t even bother getting changed into my running clothes. Once the run is under way, it then becomes harder to abandon it than to carry on.

You can find articles about training with a heart rate monitor at the Women’s Heart Rate Monitor training blog, where you can also follow my progress as I put the principles into action.

Technorati Tags: Heart Rate Monitor, heart rate monitor running, Running Diary, Running Plan, Running Program, Womens Heart Rate Monitor

Running Program – Interval Training

I have a bit of a love-hate relationship with interval training. I hate pushing myself through some really hard intervals, but I love the feeling when they are over and I especially love the resulting improvement in my general running!

The idea of Interval Training is to run at your race pace (or faster) for a specified distance, interspersed with recovery-pace jogs to reduce the stress on the body. This is widely considered to be the best way to improve race performances – superior to Tempo (steady, hard) runs. It can teach you to tolerate higher levels of discomfort, which will benefit you during a race.

The general principle is to run shorter intervals with more repetitions for shorter races, and longer intervals with fewer repetitions for longer races. However, you will benefit from a mixture of long and short interval sessions in your program. This is because the shorter intervals will help build speed and power, while longer intervals (necessarily run at a slower pace) will help improve endurance and stamina.

If you have access to a running track, a typical sprint interval may be from one to four laps of the track (400m to 1600m). I do not have this facility, but fortunately it is also a trivial matter to structure an interval session on a treadmill where distance is easily tracked. It can be pretty difficult to get reliable measured distances on outside routes, unless you have a heart rate monitor watch that includes GPS tracking or a foot pod to measure distance.

At the start of a running program I tend to run intervals at a pretty conservative pace, say 80-85% MHR. Then build-up to faster intervals as the program progresses over the weeks approaching a target race, at which point they would be at 90-95% MHR. I try to perform each interval at the same speed, but will reduce speed of the later intervals if necessary to maintain control. Sometimes, I may not increase the intensity, but instead increase the number of intervals in a given session. I’m usually flexible to inject variety, but try to adjust my program to fit a particular goal. I’ll try to cover more about this in a future article.

The interval recovery jog is just as important as the sprint interval. To develop your fitness, you do not want to fully recover from the sprint interval before starting the next one. However you need to recover enough that you can perform another fast, high quality interval. A rough guide is to take as much time to recover that it takes to run the sprint intervals. Another option is to use your heart rate monitor to determine when to start the next sprint. For example, start the next sprint interval as soon as your heart rate drops below 65% of your maximum heart rate. The latter method has the advantage of preventing you from being able to run too fast in the sprint intervals.

Due to the intensity of a good interval training session, I would generally run only one such session per week.  My other hard day would likely be a tempo run, rather than another interval session.

You can follow my progress and see examples of how I structure my interval training in the Running Diary section of my blog.

Technorati Tags: Heart Rate Monitor, Interval Training, Intervals, Running Plan, Running Program, Womens Heart Rate Monitor

Running Program – Strides (adapted for heart rate monitor and treadmill training)

This article describes how I have adapted “Strides” (also known as “Striders”) into my hard sessions.  I frequently refer to striders in my training diary, which you can follow on the Women’s Heart Rate Monitor blog.

The idea is to do 100 meter repeats at near sprint speed, interspersed with 100 meter jog recoveries. The 100 meter sprints should start easy and build-up to fast speed over the first 20 meters, then hold the fast speed for 60 meters before coasting back down to a jog over the final 20 meters. Since I do not run on a track, I have adapted this for my own workouts on a treadmill.

I start with a warm-up mile at say 5mph to increase my heart rate to about 65% of my maximum. I then input my “sprint” speed into the console. Since the treadmill then takes around 0.02 to 0.03 miles to reach the full speed, this allows me to build-up the speed and simulate that first 20 meters. I then maintain this speed for the remainder of 0.1 miles before inputting 5mph into the treadmill console. The machine then takes roughly 0.02 miles to reduce to the jogging speed. I maintain the jogging speed until another tenth of a mile is reached then start the process again.

Another change I make for my own adaptation is to start with a lower “sprint” speed and increase this with each successive “stride” until I reach the fastest speed for the session. Generally, I aim for the fastest speed to be faster than the planned speed of my subsequent intervals. I like to do this as it initially makes the intervals feel easier. I monitor my heart rate throughout and reduce the speed if I find that I have over-estimated my ability.

Let’s say I planning to run half-mile intervals at 8mph (my estimated speed for 85% Maximum Heart Rate), then I may conduct a session as follows. After my warm-up jog when I reach the 1.0 mile mark I immediately increase the treadmill speed to 6mph and maintain this until 1.1 miles. Now I run at 5mph until 1.2 miles, then run at 7mph until 1.3 miles, then 5mph until 1.4 miles. This process is repeated with stride intervals of 8mph, 9mph and finally 10mph at which point my heart rate has increased to just below 85% of my maximum. The final 5mph recovery takes me to the 2.0 mile mark, and I’m then ready to commence my main interval session.

As my fitness improves, I may start the strides at 7-8mph and increase to 11-12mph. The idea is to be at around my planned interval training heart rate by the time I commence the main interval training session. This could be anywhere between 80% and 95% of my Maximum Heart Rate, depending on where I am in my training cycle and fitness level.

The maximum speed of my treadmill is 12mph. If this is not fast enough to meet my heart-rate requirement, then I can simply increase the incline of the treadmill to make the workout harder.

Technorati Tags: Heart Rate Monitor, Running Plan, Running Program, Striders, Strides, Womens Heart Rate Monitor

Running Program Part Three – Basic Record Keeping

In part two of my series of articles for Women’s Heart Rate Monitor, I explained my reasoning behind the importance of keeping records. Now I will expand a little on the key records that I keep.

To start with, I like to keep a record of factual data that can be measured and easily quantified. The reason for this is simply that I am never in doubt that I am comparing like-for-like. The facts are indisputable. Perhaps one year ago I ran three miles in forty minutes at my recovery pace heart rate, and now I can run three miles in thirty minutes at the same heart rate. The progress is measured and can be compared directly.

I like to do measured runs on a treadmill for the most direct comparison, because this eliminates variables such as the weather and different running terrain. Typical figures I like to keep as a minimum are:

• Date of the run 
• Brief Description – e.g. 3 mile @ 70% MHR (recovery heart rate), 1.5% treadmill incline  
• Total Distance  
• Total Time Taken  
• Average Heart Rate  
• Peak Heart Rate

For longer runs, I also like to note my heart rate at each mile split. Very often there is a linear progression of improvement which relates to the quality of the training I have done. I can compare my progress in my current training cycle and adjust my goals accordingly.

I try not to include too much detail, as this would not benefit making comparisons. However, I do make extra notes in exceptional circumstances, such as a sub-par performance due to extenuating factors. The more factual the records, the more meaningful it is when making plans based on past performance.

Depending on your own goals, you may think of other things that you want to record. If you have a goal to lose weight, then clearly it makes sense to occasionally check your weight and/or body fat percentage. Whatever it takes to motivate and inspire when the inevitable “flat” periods arise.

When choosing a Heart Rate Monitor, it is a very good idea to go for a model that includes a “lap” counter. This helps to ensure that heart rate and times are accurately recorded for each split. Although not necessary when you are starting out and perhaps only run one or two miles, the feature becomes much more useful as mileage increases.

On a final note, I should mention that some heart rate monitors, such as the Garmin FR60 Women’s Heart Rate Monitor that I recently reviewed, have the ability to store data about the run and transfer it to a PC (or Mac) for analysis and review. This can make record keeping a snap and can provide a more thorough analysis of the run. However, I tend to refer to my own records that I keep on a simple spreadsheet. However you prefer to keep records, be it computerised or using a good old-fashioned notebook, start sooner rather than later. You will be glad you did!

Technorati Tags: Heart Rate Monitor, Running Plan, Running Program, Womens Heart Rate Monitor

Running Program Part Two – The importance of keeping records

In part one of “My first running program” article for Women’s Heart Rate Monitor, I described my very first experience of training below my heart rate recovery ceiling. This was to form the basis of my training program for the next few months and beyond.

The following tip was given to me and I’m dedicating this article to explaining why I consider it to be one of the most important pieces of advice ever given to me. It not only applies to heart monitor training, but any kind of training and many other areas of life.

The tip was simple: Keep a record of your training – and start it now! In my opinion, the importance cannot be understated.

When starting out, you may feel unfit, overweight, and have generally low self-esteem when it comes to your body image. The last thing you feel like doing is recording these “facts” for posterity! It doesn’t matter that nobody else will see these records, it is just embarrassing to admit to yourself how bad things have become. However, this is the ideal time to start the record.

Make no mistake, it takes time to progress with any worthwhile activity. Progress is slow. Sometimes you may plateau in your training, or suffer a set-back through illness, injury or other factors beyond your control. No long-term training program will ever be plain sailing. You’ve heard of Olympian athletes who spend four years preparing for an event, only to suffer an injury that means that competing is out of the question. Imagine how it must feel to know that the next chance is four years away – if indeed there is another chance.

There are a myriad of problems that can demotivate us. It may feel as if it is not worthwhile continuing with the activity. It takes such a long time to make improvements, and set-backs make the process seem interminable. This is the time to review those records.

Whatever the set-back, the chances are that you are still fitter and leaner than you were on your first training session. This may have been forgotten, but the evidence is there in writing. Without it, you would have forgotten that your heart rate sky-rocketed on a jog (which, back then, you would have described as “sprinting”). You will also notice that you now recover more quickly from problems and it doesn’t take as long to make progress back towards your peak fitness. These are powerful motivators that can make the difference between quitting or continuing with training.

Another reason for recording each training session is that it helps immensely with planning a future running program. You will begin to see what works and what doesn’t work for you. I am constantly amazed at the number of people that do exactly the same routine at the gym every time they train. Set the treadmill for ten minutes at five miles per hour, every session. How can they possibly expect to make progress with their fitness over the long-term?

Heart rate monitor training helps a great deal, because our speed will adapt naturally as we become fitter. That is to say, we can gradually run faster at the same heart rate as we become fitter. We simply need to keep a note of how far we have run to see how we improve from session-to-session, week-to-week and so on.

Okay, so hopefully you realise that you only stand to gain from starting a record. Now you may be wondering what you should keep in the record. I’ll cover some suggestions in my next article.

Technorati Tags: Heart Rate Monitor, Running Plan, Running Program, Womens Heart Rate Monitor

Running Program – Part One

My previous idea of a running program plan was to run on the treadmill for ten minutes each time I worked out.  This seemed okay to me, until boredom with the routine set in and I turned my attention to a different workout gadget.  Well, any workout gadget other than the treadmill, if I’m honest.

“We’ll get to the specifics later” my mentor told me.  “For now, I just want you to make a start on the treadmill to see how you get on based on these numbers”.

Oh, hell.  Now I was going to have to do some work.

Once I was ready to start, my mentor bashed in a quick-start on the treadmill console.  I was off – but only at walking speed.

“We’ll get you warmed-up gradually”.

Over the next few minutes my speed was gradually increased to faster walking until I was at my “I’m going to be late for [work / the bus / X-Factor]” pace.

For the first time, though, I was watching my Heart Rate Monitor reading on the LED display.  I was quite amazed at how fast it appeared to be rising – though I hadn’t even started running yet!

My mentor explained that, if my heart rate went over my 70% Recovery Ceiling for more than a few seconds, then I had to slow down a little, until it fell back below the ceiling.  I still had some way to go at this point.

Now I was slow-jogging and moving up the pace.  At no point did my mentor increase the incline of the treadmill for this session.  “There’s no need for that yet” he told me.

By about seven minutes I was jogging along reasonably comfortably, when my heart rate hit my recovery ceiling.  In less than one more minute it went over the limit so I was instructed to reduce my speed by 0.1mph.

What was surprising was that I was not running as fast as I did in the past when I ran on the treadmill.  I expected to be running significantly faster, so I was feeling a bit disappointed by this discovery.  Perhaps it meant that we had calculated the recovery ceiling incorrectly?

Anyway, having reduced my speed by 0.1mph my Heart Rate Monitor reading dropped down, as if by magic, and was again just below my recovery ceiling.  Then within a minute I had to reduce the speed again, then again, then again.

We continued the process and I quite quickly got to the point where I was practically walking!  I was mortified by this, and felt not just a little embarrassed.  My mentor instructed me to reduce my speed still further to bring my heart rate right back down in a cool-down period.

At the end of the process he asked me how I felt.  “Embarrassed!” was my honest reply.

“Let’s look at what just happened” he said.  “You continued on the treadmill for more than twenty minutes on your first session – even though you admitted to me that you never used a treadmill for longer than ten minutes in the past.”

“Further, you stuck to the plan.  You didn’t allow your preconceived ideas get in the way of a very informative session.  Ideas such as no pain no gain have been very damaging, in my opinion.  How did you feel physically during the workout?”.

I told him that I felt like I wasn’t working hard enough. Although I had clearly worked up a sweat and was breathing more heavily, I felt like I should have been running faster.

“That’s brilliant.  That’s how I wanted you to feel.”

He went on “The fact is that you worked-out for more than twice as long as you ever did before, with a plan in mind – and that is a great starting point!”

“Now, before we construct your running program, I want to give you one of my top tips to get the most out of your future training…..”

Technorati Tags: Heart Rate Monitor, Running Plan, Running Program, Womens Heart Rate Monitor