Women's Heart Rate Monitor

Heart Rate Monitor Running Diary – Week Two (Part 1)

One thing I didn’t mention in my previous diary articles was what I drink during my training. The simple answer is water. Plain water – nothing fancy. There is no need for Gatorade, Isotonic Drinks, Carbo Gels or any other other aids during runs of this length. I’ll cover how and when I do use these as my training progresses.

Also, I tend to drink more when I am treadmill training. I have a bottle of water to hand and take regular sips throughout the run. On average, I take a mouthful or two of water at approximately mile intervals during these runs. However, I find that on outdoor runs of less than an hour, I seldom feel the need for any liquid refreshment at all (assuming I’m adequately hydrated before setting out on the run).

I started the second week with a three mile run on a flat treadmill (0.0 incline), sticking to the principles of heart monitor training outlined in week one. I began at a slightly higher pace of 5.5mph and made reductions when necessary, finishing the run at 4.4mph. My split times for each mile were 11:03, 22:54 and 35:48, which was an improvement.

The following day I ran four miles, following the same pattern. My split times were 10:56, 22:24, 34:55, and 48:23. I was holding my pace well during the first three miles, but had to reduce speed a bit faster in the final mile. However, I still finished at 4.3mph and was nearly a minute-and-a-half faster than my previous four mile run. While the improvements are being made at this rate, I am happy to stick to the program and continue with straightforward recovery runs.

Day three will be a rest day, so I’ll report back in two or three days with more updates on the Women’s Heart Rate Monitor blog.

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Heart Monitor Running Diary – Week One (Days 6 and 7) with summary

As planned, day five was a rest day.

Day six was my final training day in this first week and my longest run so far – four miles. Please remember that this is a comeback week after a lay-off. It is not a schedule I would recommend to someone who is just starting out with running. I intend to write some more beginner’s articles for the Women’s Heart Rate Monitor blog in the near future.

I started the run a little faster at 5.3mph. I maintained above 5mph throughout the first mile and clocked-in at 11:29. The temperature was much the same as on my previous run, so now I was getting a more direct comparison of my efforts.

I’m quite pleased with progress in this first week – following the initial dissapointment of the first run. The split times for each mile were 11:29, 23:26, 36:07, 49:47 and I finished the run at 4.3mph. My average heart rate was 150bpm. In a matter of only five days, my times have improved nicely throughout the run. I’m now running faster at the end of four miles than I was at the end of two miles earlier in the week.

Can you see how motivating this style of training can be? I am running with exactly the same amount of effort, and my speed has increased measurably. This has to be better than just turning up and going through the motions of running a fixed time or distance without really knowing whether fitness is improving, doesn’t it? Of course, you may personally experience slower or faster gains, but the point is that you will know that you are improving and that the effort is worthwhile. This is exactly what turned me into a person that enjoys running.

Day seven was another rest day, so here’s a summary of the first week of training.

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Heart Monitor Running Diary – Week One (Days 2 to 5)

I planned a three mile run for my second day of training.

After having established my true (un)fitness level the previous day, I started the treadmill at a more realistic 5mph and allowed my heart rate to more gradually climb to my recovery ceiling. I started to drop the speed from around 0.75 miles into the run, but at a less dramatic rate than before.

My first two miles were 12:04 and 25:09 respectively, meaning that I was just over a minute-and-a-half faster to the two mile mark. My body was starting to adapt to training again. During the third mile I had to reduce my speed more frequently (using the technique I described in my previous article) and ended the run slowly at 3.8mph. My time for three miles was 40:36.

Day three was a rest day.

Day four was scheduled for another three mile run at recovery pace, following exactly the same principles as my earlier runs and starting at 5mph. I didn’t have to reduce my speed at all in the first mile, so it took 12:00 minutes exactly. I will increase my starting speed for my next run by a few tenths, since I am happy to reach my recovery ceiling sooner.

My times at the end of each mile split were 12:00, 24:16 and 37:27. So my three mile time was a full three minutes faster than on my previous run. If only progress was always that easy! I should point out that the weather was somewhat cooler today, so that will account for part of the improvement. My experience is that the heart works harder and does impact the timings on hot days. I’ll get a better idea how I’m progressing when the temperature settles down.

I’m planning a rest day for day five, followed by a four mile run on day six.

You can follow my progress on the Women’s Heart Rate Monitor blog.

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Women’s Heart Rate Monitor – No Place For Ego

Recovery Run – Method

I’ve previously determined my heart rate recovery ceiling to be 153bpm (beats per minute). I monitor my heart rate throughout the run and when it reaches 154bpm, I immediately reduce my speed by 0.1mph. If it does not reduce to 153 or lower within ten seconds, then I reduce by another 0.1mph. In the early stage of the run, this process may be required in fairly rapid successions – particularly if I have started out too fast, like I did today. I may find that my heart rate still climbs after reducing my speed by 0.1mph, so I will drop it 0.2mph or more to quickly get back below my recovery ceiling. Sometimes my heart rate may drop to 151bpm or lower, in which case I’ll increase speed by 0.1mph increments to get back up to 152/153bpm. So as you can see, I’m looking to be training as near as possible to my recovery ceiling without going over. This process is easier to carry out on a treadmill, but the principle is the same when running outside. As the run progresses and as fitness improves, the process of reducing the speed becomes less frequent.

The First (comeback) Run

To kick-off my new training routine I decided to limit myself to two miles. This was a recovery run on a treadmill with no incline. The idea was simply to assess my current level of fitness (or lack thereof) and help me to set my level of training for the forthcoming week.

As I mentioned in my previous article, the brain is more ready for returning to training than the body. I started off at what I thought was a conservative pace of 6mph. However, I reached my heart rate recovery ceiling within just a couple of minutes and had to reduce the pace quite rapidly to 5mph and then gradually lower during the remainder of the run. I dragged my sorry ass in at 3.9mph at the end of the run. It was a humbling reminder that a heart rate monitor accurately measures how the heart responds to exercise, and the heart does not lie about the fitness level. Heart monitor training has no place for ego.

Today, my first mile was completed in 12:17, and my time for two miles was 26:44. My peak heart rate was 153bpm and averaged 151bpm. To put this in perspective, the final two miles of my marathon were completed more than three minutes faster than this!

After my target distance was completed I cooled-down by walking for five minutes, allowing my heart rate to slow down gradually. My lower back had ached during the run, so I did a post-run back stretch that I had been shown by a physiotherapist. This is performed by laying on the floor, then drawing the knees up to the chest into the foetal position. A gentle rocking motion aids the stretch.

It would be easy to dwell on the negative, but this is where keeping records can help the motivation. I could see a previous time in my training diary where I had missed training for two months, and I had a similar dramatic drop in fitness. Knowing that I successfully recovered from a very similar set-back in the past means that I am easily able to look beyond my current situation to where I will be in the coming months, as long as I follow structured training and remain patient.

Day One training was now complete, and I’m happy to say I was immediately looking forward to the next session. That’s exactly how it should be.

You can follow my progress on the Women’s Heart Rate Monitor blog.

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