The most common response I hear from runners starting out with low heart rate training, following Dr. Phil Maffetone’s 180 formula is: “I have to run so slow, it is very frustrating, I even have to take walk breaks (and even pace myself then) to keep my heart rate below the calculated MAF threshold level”.
If this sounds familiar to your situation, realize that you are not alone! I have connected with thousands of runners over the years and at least 95% mentioned they have to slow down significantly several minutes per mile or km compared to their usual training pace. Many athletes have to take walk breaks to stay aerobic, especially if there are any hills, wind or higher temperatures.
There is a light at the end of the tunnel with the right mindset, patience and determination. Low Heart Rate training has a Cult Like following, because of many significant benefits, such as improved race times, higher energy levels during and after a work out, faster recovery times, less stress on your body, and much lower chances of injuries. I’ve been training at low HR for more than 4 years now. Initially I also struggled to slow down in training, however I found ways to turn my frustrations into excitement. Many athletes fail to stick to low heart rate MAF training, so I am writing this post to discuss why athletes fail and what can be done to improve your changes of success to become a faster, healthier, happier athlete.
In this post we’re going to discuss:
- the logic behind slowing down in your training and benefits for race day
- what you can expect from low heart rate MAF training over the months and years
- turning frustrations with MAF training into excitement
Let’s dive right in!
Slow Down in Your Training to Race Faster
Heart rate is the number of heartbeats, usually expressed as beats per minute (BPM). The heart beats to supply oxygenated clean blood from the left ventricle to the blood vessels of the body via the aorta. The heart rate is a reflection of your body’s oxygen need. Your brain can force your heart to change your heart rate based on your body’s needs. This hr can be very low, 30 to 40 bpm in rest for those with a great aerobic function to as high as 220 in young athletes in all-out efforts.
Your body uses two main sources for energy: glucose and body fat. Most athletes, even very skinny ones, have a massive supply of calories available from body fat, while glucose storage in your body is limited. Many marathon runners have experienced hitting the wall, also called bonking. This is caused by the body’s inability to burn enough fat for energy. If you must rely mostly on sugar, you have limited energy available. Once glycogen stores have been used, your blood sugar drops depriving your muscles and brain of fuel.
Here are a two examples of runners who bonked at the 2017 Boston Marathon around the 20 mile / 32km point, because they ran out of energy from glucose and were not able to get enough energy out of body fat. The 2017 Boston marathon was a hot race year, resulting in elevated heart rates, with increased chances of bonking.
Hitting the wall at the Boston Marathon via Strava
If you develop your fat burning aerobic system, your body is able to use a lot of energy from stored body fat. This can be accomplished through Diet & Nutrition, Stress Management and Training at the appropriate heart rate intensity.
The training approach that I recommend is highly influenced by elements from Dr. Phil Maffetone and his MAF training approach. I strongly believe all endurance athletes should start training with a GPS running watch with heart rate monitor. The 180 Formula created by Dr. Phil Maffetone calculates your ideal individual aerobic training Heart Rates. (for much more details, recommendations on heart rate monitors, etc sign up for my weekly newsletter here).
This MAF training zone is your optimal training intensity that burns mostly fat for fuel. Training at this MAF HR frequently develops your aerobic system, it improves your fat burning abilities so it teaches your body to use more energy from body fat and you improve your endurance performance.
Heart Rate Monitors are a great biofeedback device that help limit your body’s wear, tear and chances of injuries. A heart rate monitor takes the guesswork out of training and can help increase your aerobic speed significantly. Over time it can help make you a much faster endurance athlete!
You might be a fast runner, however the reason you have to slow down significantly in your low heart rate training runs is that you’re aerobically not fit. For example 6 time World Champion Ironman Mark Allen, trained most of his run at 5 min mile pace, however when he started training at MAF, even he had to slow down in training by 3 1/2 minutes to 8:30 min / mile at first. Some runners are in shape to run a 3 hour 30 minutes marathon or faster, yet aerobically they need to slow down to 11:00 or 13:00 min / mile to run aerobic in training. If you recognize yourself in this situation, realize that is totally normal and nothing to worry about.
What to Expect From MAF Training over Time
When you use the 180 Formula, you’ll come up with a number that is your MAF HR. You’ll improve your fat burning abilities by training at or within 10 beats under this number. The closer to your MAF number, the faster your aerobic development. Here are a few things you might experience in the first few weeks or months of low heart rate training:
- Within minutes of starting your run, your heart rate will shoot up and you’ll have to slow down significantly or take walk breaks
- you don’t understand why you’ll have to run this slow.
- you will get passed left and right by slow runners, you used to always beat them
- your friends might wonder what’s going on with you running so slow
- you might feel embarrassed to share any of your runs on social platforms because its so slow
- you start to wonder if you calculated the 180 formula right (most probably you did! If you’re ever in doubt between 2 numbers, always pick the lowest one)
- you wonder if you have an exceptionally low or high HR and this 180 formula doesn’t work for you (the 180 formula is a great starting point for almost all runners wanting to improve their aerobic system).
- you will finish your first few runs at very slow pace and don’t feel tired at all, you feel you could have continued running much longer. Am I doing this right?
When your lizard brain start feeding you doubtful thoughts, remember the following:
- You’re not alone, almost everyone struggles starting out with the 180 formula in the first few months.
- Realize that you will not be walking / running slow forever
- Patience is absolutely key. Most people want to see results right away. Have a beginners mind and think about your long term advantages of having a well developed aerobic base.
Aerobic progress can happen fast. If you run a MAF test, your monthly aerobic progress might look like this:
Prior to MAF training
- Mile 1 = 11:30 min / mile (7:09 / km)
- Mile 2 = 11:45 min / mile (7:18 / km)
- Mile 3 = 12:05 min / mile (7:30 / km)
- Mile 4 = 12:15 min / mile (7:36 / km)
- Mile 5 = 12:25 min / mile 7:42 / km)
- Total time = 60:00 minutes
- Average = 12:00 min / miles (7:27 / km)
After 1 month of MAF Training
- Mile 1 = 11:00 min / mile (6:50 / km)
- Mile 2 = 11:15 min / mile (6:59 / km)
- Mile 3 = 11:35 min / mile (7:11 / km)
- Mile 4 = 11:50 min / mile (7:21 / km)
- Mile 5 = 12:05 min / mile (7:30 / km)
- Total time = 57:45 minutes
- Average = 11:33 min / mile (7:10 / km)
After 2 month of MAF Training
- Mile 1 = 10:40 min / mile (6:38 / km)
- Mile 2 = 11:00 min / mile (6:50 / km)
- Mile 3 = 11:10 min / mile (6:56 / km)
- Mile 4 = 11:30 min / mile (7:09 / km)
- Mile 5 = 11:50 min / mile (7:21 / km)
- Total time = 56:10 minutes
- Average = 11:14 min / mile (6:59 / km)
Let’s look at the progress of this specific athlete. After 1 month of MAF training, at the same HR this athlete ran 2 minutes and 15 seconds faster. After 2 months of MAF training, almost 4 minutes faster at the same HR.
If you translate this to a marathon, at the same HR, per mile 46 seconds faster at same HR x 26.2 miles, this could mean almost 21 minutes faster at the same effort. The progress in the first several months is typically larger, after a while, the monthly progress becomes smaller.
If you are not progressing
Naturally, healthy athletes should improve aerobically over time. If you’re training the right way with a lot heart rate following Dr. Phil Maffeton’s 180 formula, and you’re not progressing or even regressing in your training, several factors could be blocking your progress. Analyze how you feel, any recent colds or illnesses, higher than normal stress levels at work or in your personal life, unhealthy nutrition, lack of rest, recovery and sleep, under-training or over-training, too much cross training or high HR training, miscalculation of your MAF pace, etc. All these factors can influence your fat burning abilities and slow down your aerobic development. If this is the case and you have seen very limited to no progress when starting out with MAF training, focus to improve these factors in your life first.
Change Your Mindset, Turn Frustrations into Excitement
Let’s face it, many athletes have a very hard time slowing down their pace significantly to a mellow jog or walk to keep their hard rate at or below MAF. Not only do they feel embarrassed to be slower than any other runner out and getting passed left and right by friends and strangers. Several athletes mentioned they stopped posting their runs on apps like Strava or Nike plus, because they feel judged about their slow pace by others. The biggest enemy for most athletes starting out with low heart rate training is their own ego. Take on a beginners mind, realize you have to invest time and energy to create a solid foundation. Patience and consistency in training is absolutely key to make low heart rate training work.
Ryan Holiday wrote one of my all time favorite books titled The Obstacle is the Way. He goes in much detail about overcoming obstacles in three critical steps:
- How we look at our specific problems, our attitude or approach.
- The energy and creativity with which we actively break them down and turn them in opportunities.
- Our inner will that allows us to handle defeat and difficulty.
When being faced with an obstacle such as running at a much slower pace that you’re used to, we must try to be objective. To keep our emotions under control and see the good in a situation. To ignore what disturbs or limits others. To believe this is an investment in time and effort worth making, because you’ll build a foundation that will benefit you for years to come as a faster, stronger, healthier athlete. To focus on what can be controlled. Epictetus wrote: “Persist in your efforts. Resist giving in to distraction, discouragement, or disorder”.
Over the years I’ve studied a lot of highly successful athletes, entrepreneurs, artists and ruckus makers. Two characteristics that keep coming back for these top performers is Persistence and Determination. So when you feel discouraged and unmotivated to train, ask yourself the questions:
How Bad do You Want It?
In the book A Complaint Free World by Will Bowen, the author explains how your thoughts create your life and your words indicate what you’re thinking. Your word choice can make a huge difference in your thought process, for example instead of using the word ‘Problem’, consider ‘Opportunity’, instead of ‘Struggle’, consider ‘Journey’, instead of ‘Enemy’, consider ‘Friend’. Maya Angelou famously quoted:
“If you don’t like something, change it. If you can’t change it, change your attitude. Don’t complain”.
With this article I’m giving you permission to slow down. To run and be able to have a comfortable conversation. To finish a run and feel that you have a lot of energy left in your tank. No Pain No Gain makes zero sense and will get your injured and burned out in the long term. Once you start seeing aerobic improvements after several weeks or months, this is very motivating to see your efforts are working. It’s a cycle that keeps repeating itself. After a few months you should improve your fat burning abilities, run faster and feel great.
A Few Other Strategies for Success
Slowing down your pace feel pretty boring, especially when first starting out with MAF training. There are a few other ways to keep your runs fun and exciting:
- Downhill Sprints – slowly jog or walk up a mountain, hill, or bridge, then run down at a faster but aerobic pace until your HR alarm goes off at your MAF pace. My ideal grade for faster downhill aerobic sprints are 200 to 400 feet drop per mile (38 to 76 meters per km).
- 8 Second Sprints – after a good warm up, run several short 8 second sprints. You will run a fast interval, however because it’s very short, your heart rate will stay mostly aerobic. Make sure your HR comes down for a few minutes before your next short sprint.
- Cross Training – you can improve your fat burning abilities by cross training in many different ways, like aerobic bike rides, swims, hikes in the mountains, ellipticals, etc. In the base building phase, I have had most success with running as many aerobic miles as my family / work / life schedule can handle. Cross training can be helpful, however I’d focus mostly on running more miles to improve.
- Make it a game – this idea came from Mike Capka in our Extramilest Facebook Group: I played games early on: 1) How far can I go without setting the HR alarm 2) What is the fewest number of alarms I can have during a run 3) How high can I go up the hill before my alarm goes off without slowing to a walk? #3 is really fun and rewarding once you can make it up the hill without slowing to a walk. It also gets to be very encouraging.
Success Stories
Don’t just take my word for it. Here are a few quotes of runners from around the world to shared their experiences with low HR training:
- James J: Your blog inspired me to a sub3 at the London Marathon this year[2:58:34] (24th April 2016) knocking nearly 1/2 hour off my PB. The low HR training was the key for me. I followed a 4 month plan with mid-week and weekend long runs done just under my aerobic heart rate. (Which was very slow to begin with, as you said it would be – so I didn’t panic.) No one really believed I could do it except me – I just trusted in the training and paced for a 2:58. The advice really works! Next race: The Boston Marathon!
- John H – I found your article online about running a sub three hour marathon 4 months ago. Since following your advice my bad achilles is finally getting better after 2 years of pain. I realized running slower is the key to build up that fabled aerobic base. Thank you!
- Joe R: Hey Flo, I’ve only done about 4 months of MAF, lost 6% body fat, 4 kilos and bid my best time @ Berlin (3:14:08), Boston qualified… best of all I feel great!! Kudos for MAF.. Next goal under 3 @ Boston! Thanks again!
- John K: I just ran the Phoenix marathon in Feb ’17 and was shocked to come in at 3:08 with none of the cramping that plagued me at the end of New York (3:25). At my current age, that time will definitely get me into Boston in 2018! So excited, I never would have been able to do it had I not come across your training and dietary methods. For anyone else considering Maffetone/HR training, I strongly encourage trying it. Takes some getting used to if you have a “no-pain no-gain” mentality, but the results make it worth it. Thanks again!
- Matt: After running a 3:08 marathon, I trained hard with the goal of running a 3:03 BQ time, however, I bonked and ran a 3:10 marathon. Then I read your post and was very inspired. I developed my training plan and purchased a HR monitor to do all my runs under 150 bpm. This regimen worked for me too! Last Sunday, I ran a 2:59 marathon, and I met all of my most aspirational goals for this race: BQ, sub 3 hour, negative split.
Closing Thoughts
Slowing down your training pace by several minutes per mile or km can be frustrating at first. Patience is absolutely key and a significant amount of runners fail to stick to low HR training, because they are not willing to invest the time and effort it takes to break through. By changing your mindset about running slow, you can change frustrations into excitement.
Once you start seeing small initial improvements, this will fuel your fire that you’re on the right track. It’s an amazing feeling to finish a run without feeling exhausted, and realize you could keep going much longer. Over time you can become a much faster, healthier and happier runner. As Matt Fitzgerald said, the greatest athletic performances spring from the mind, not the body. The main question is: How bad do you want it?
I have recently launched a heart rate specific running program, focused around developing an aerobic base, marathon running, reducing stress, improving nutrition, developing the right mindsets and HR specific race strategies. Click here to find out more info.
I’d love to hear from you, what are your experiences with low heart rate training? What has and has not worked for you and why? Please let me know in the comments below!
Hey Flo
Very nice article really uplifted my spirits.
Just want know your thoughts about training in high temperature and high humidity.
I just started the MAF training 3 weeks ago. I’m sticking to it no matter what. Yes its slow but I’m going to trust the training. My question is…I also do a lot of cycling and swimming as I enjoy triathlons. How much does not training the same MAF way on the bike hurt my run training? I don’t think I can drop my cycling HR down the same way….I’d be walking my bike at times and only riding by myself.
I posted yesterday but it doesn’t sow up so I hope this isn’t a duplicate. I started on the MAF run plan about 3 weeks ago…slow going but I’m sticking to it. My question is about cycling (partial about swimming but its harder to slow your HR or monitor it the whole time), How much will my riding affect the results of my MAF run progress? I don’t follow the low HR for my rides. If I did I’d be riding alone and might be walking my bike at times. Will my riding hard and / or hilly rides negatively impact my run training? Thanks
Hey Floris,
love reading through your blog, but how about putting some metric data next to the miles, I’m sure you have a lot of reader who are not using the imperial system and it would be very helpful not having to convert everything all the time as I’m reading along.
Keep up the good work!
Re: Being embarrassed about posting slow times on Strava etc. I just started and I simply append (Maffetone – MAF 124) to my run description so that any of my followers who notice the slower pace understand why.
Hi, I am truely inspired by your “How to run a sub-3 hour marathon, Boston qualifier or Marathon PR” article and would like to incorporate your tips in my training. Using the MAF 180-Formula, my Max Aerobic HR is 147bpm. I have also developed a training plan based on the MAF.
An example of my easy day is:
– WarmUp: 1 mile at < 137 bpm
– Run: X miles at 137-147 bpm
– WarmDown at < 137 bpm
I have a few queries which I would like to ask:
1) Is my above easy day plan valid and practical?
2) In many instances, my HR actual went up significantly above the MAF HR (147 bpm) and I have problem bring it down to within the range. What do I do from here? Do I slow down to walking?
I just started looking into what MAF training is. I’m confused a bit because I can’t find any information for those of us with high heart rates. Does this apply to everyone or what are the exceptions if there are some? I’m 44. My average resting heart rate is around 54 and my max is currently 202. I generally jog a half marathon with a heart rate of 175-180. For a 12 hour race I try to stay in the 160’s. A 5k would have my heart rate in the 190s. I think I would need to walk to keep my hr at the MAF target of 136. I’m curious to give it a try, but walking doesn’t seem right to me.
should i pay attention to my cadence? since i have started running by this method, my cadence has dropped from 174 to 147.
Since i have started training by this method my cadence has gone down to 147 from 174. Any comments on this?
Hello, I’ve been MAF training for about six months. I’m up to about 35 mpw and have seen my MAF pace (144bpm) decrease from 11mm to 8:30mm. At the beginning, I found running at the 144bpm heart rate very slow but also very relaxing. Now I find running at 144bpm to feel much more tiring. I can find a relaxing run if i slow down to about 10mm, which is a 125bpm heart rate. However, I am worried I will stop progressing.
Do you still do all of your long runs at the full MAF pace? So much of the writing is about it being hard to slow down — which it was at first — but now I’m finding it hard to maintain.
Crystal, I’m the same age.
Your max HR seems incorrect at 202, the normal formula is 220 minus age which makes it 176. My resting rate is also 54, I can lower it to 48 by really relaxing but it’s not high, pretty normal. I’m a cyclist and it’s hard to do it at 136, it’s going really slow, barely burning any energy. By the time I’m on the bike I’m already around 80-90 and when warm my HR is around 140, I could keep cruising for hours at that speed barely braking a sweat and watching the birds. On the other hand it takes a lot for me to go above 100% HR (176), that happens in a sprint and is not sustainable for long so it seems too high for you to stay in the red for 13 miles unless you are racing, then it makes sense but not sure it’s good for you tough.
I am two months in with my First marathon coming up in October. I am on a low carb diet and have been for over a year so the MAF method made sense to me. I ran my Half Marathon at an anaerobic heart rate in March and now I am running so freakin’ slow. My big question is on race day. Do I just open up the flood gates and go for it and not worry about HR that day or do I still worry. I am two months in and worried that I am not getting much faster.
Hi Florian and everyone,
Two days ago, on July 25, 2018, I have started MAF training after I came across this blog. I’m in Istanbul for research. It is hot and humid and you have to run along the streets because the people here are left with very few green spaces. I would not be surprised if a youtube video of me “running” emerged. It must be quit a sight. I am very tall and my first MAF run was unfathomably slow. Uphill I had to walk after 200 feet. The only comfort for my embarrassment is that I might inspire people to take up running. They will certainly be able to think “oh, I can do what she does!” I have to admit that I am not a fast runner to begin with. The stormy Venice Marathon of 2012 I ran in 4.38. But every time I recover from injury and enthusiastically take up speed training I get injured again (also I am 45 which might be another injury factor). I only want to run long distance pain-free and healthily. That is really all I want. And I want it badly. I will write again after my Hamburg Marathon end of April 2019 to report where I got with following your advice here. I promised myself to give it a try for a couple of months. Thank you for sharing all your experiences and the great PDF for free. It is a great inspiration beyond running life.
Hi Florin
I am 49 years old and training for traithlon but emphesizing on running (10 hrs run, 6 hrs cycling, 4 hrs swimming).
I have now shifted all my triathlon work to the desired aerobic MA HR.
My question is as follows: regarding running I have done so far (without MAF) about 110 km per week (two medium long runs and one long run per week and the rest are 1:00-1:30 hr runs, not running twice a day !!)
Now that I am starting MAF (my MAF is about 6:10 minutes/km) should I run less ? I am afraid to run less in order not to loose fitness.
thanks
Ran
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Hi I am a 63 year old man, mainly into walking long distance (50 miles in 16 hrs) and have decided to try to run 100 miles in under 30 hrs fastest walk for 100 miles was 35 hrs slowest 47 ( do not ask!) I think my HR for MAF is 120 ish however my HR is often higher than this when walking. Should I slow some walks down? Or try to stay on flat routes? Thoughts please.
As I am allowing 3 years befor attempting to run 100 there is plenty of time to try and follow MAF plan for training but I will still be doing long walks at a fast (for me) rate.
Thanks
Andrew
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I am an active 68 year old runner. I have recently carried out my first MAF training run which was 5k, however, I was not running very much. The question is how long does it take to reach continuous running, as it would appear quite some time going by this run which was actually more a walk.
Hi,
I’m not really having much success with this. I’ve been running for 4 years now, and I originally undertook the Maf method after realising that I was peaking at typically 8.30-9min miles. Once I bought a heart rate monitor it became apparent that even gentle jogging was typically 150bpm + (for context I’m 37 years old). My 5KM time is typically around 28mins and to achieve that I’m running 190+bpm for the vast majority and basically destroyed by the end of it.
I ran MAF for a couple of months, lost a bit of weight (approx 11lbs) but made zero improvement in speed and heart rate still aggressively spikes to 150+bpm at anything more than a shuffling jog.
I’ve followed all aspects of MAF to the letter (diet, supplements, stress etc), and overall feel much better for the experience in my health but running wise I’m stumped as to what to do next!
Thanks
J
Hi James, well done on your weight loss. Losing 11 pounds is significant. No aerobic progress can be caused by a variety of things.
Many athletes have to destress first, and might not see progress for several months, as their bodies reset. Patience is absolutely key.
Have a look at this detailed article and let me know if anything stands out: https://extramilest.com/blog/7-reasons-why-some-athletes-are-not-making-progress-with-maf-training-and-what-to-do-about-it/
Cheers, Flo
Hi Flo,
Thanks for sharing this – it’s useful. I do believe my body is in constant fight or flight mode at the moment. At a very gentle jog my heart rate goes over the 139bpm that is my MAF MHR so looks like I need to be power walking only for the next few months to try and improve things.
Thanks again
James
Hi Flo
Someone introduced me to MAF very recently and I did my first run today. It was extremely difficult to keep my heart rate down and by the end of my 8 miles it was more walking than jogging. If I hadn’t read this post I would have binned the idea already. I’ve decided to continue thank you for sharing
Stuart
Hi Floris,
First thing I want to say: great informative website and show on YouTube..
What I miss in the approachis the next: I have at least max HR 203. Im 29 years old, so MAF HR is 151. I estimate my lactate treshold about 182.. in my opinion I can train fully aerobicly fr from 151 to 180.. why isn’t that allowed in de MAF method? It would provide a lot more variety in training, instead of only running at 151, while still training only aerobicly.
I’m very interested in your opinion.
Cheers.. John b
I’m still chugging along on my MAF journey eight months later wondering when I’ll be able to run without walking. I must’ve run these past two years on the trail way too fast for my poor heart! I need some hope! I stop and walk at max HR , but will my HR at some point just not drift past my max? I started at 10 beats below max and I’m now at 5 beats below (for the range). Have you known runners to take this long or longer to achieve a consistent jog/run ?Thanks Floris, I enjoy this site, but would love to be able to read all your replys.
This is for high HR freaks same as me. I am 28, and my HR max can go above 210, i can run half marathon on HR 189. If you are experienced runners or athletes(2-5+years), and high HR freaks, try 180-age +5to10bpm, and let me know, because it works for me very well, i have to almost walk on 180-age, and almost dont breathing, and my race times go down…180-age +10 works for me, even mr. Maffeton talk about that. My PRs are about 18min 5k, 37min 10k, and 1:27 HM.
Relating
It’s a tough journey, I’ll give you that. I’m only on my second month, too. I’m 40, and so my MAF is 140.
One day? You’ll experience sizeable gains…and then nothing for a while.
You’ll have a great run day, where, on the same run route you run an entire minute faster while mostly below target. The next day you may run your usual slow pace. I figure this last part usually to do with recovery and/ or sleep and diet. Taking a day or two off may help to bring back that good day.
Having trouble adapting? And having to walk all the time? As a current runner?
My first suggestion is to acclimate your body to slower running. For example, one might think because I was a 20 minute 5K runner, I’d have a enough base to run slow without stopping with no problem! WRONG! I had zero aerobic base and all anaerobic base. My slow twitch weren’t fit. I dropped my daily 8:30 minute mile run @ 166-176bpm a full minute and was still between 155-165 (spikes). I dropped to 10:00 pace? 152-162 (ish), and dropping to 11:00/ 11:30 still got me into the high side of 140s, with climbs closer to 160. To circumvent this, and avoid THE WALK I simply just started running a minute slower, at first, and on the following week ran an additional 15-30 seconds slower. I kept this up until I could run without walking. Gradually take about 15-30 seconds off your run, for the first few weeks…until you notice you can keep under your target HR while still running.
One thing you’ll find is you’ll have to pretty much throw miles out the window. If, like me, you were a non-HR (monitoring) runner and doing upward 20-30+ miles, a week, you’ll soon realize you can’t go out on the 6 mile daily runs anymore. If you do? Believe me, you’re even more exhausted while running that much slower. As they say, “run by time and not by miles.” The stubbornness in you will want to force that mileage anyway. This will set you back in MAF, as if you are not already walking your HR down, you may very well be in the final half of the run. Miles, as far as you’re concerned, should only matter when you get faster…but not for the reason of simply counting miles, but as a means of extending your run duration. For example, old me ran 6.20 daily miles in 50 minute workout runs. For me? First month of MAF? …70 minutes. That’s a long run! And I was getting exhausted!
That said? Start with 30-40 minute workout runs…before you get a chance to really dive down in HR toward the end of your runs, and have to finish at a crawl. Slowly push up the miles as you notice less HR climb later into those runs. So factor in the fact that your HR goes up with the longer you run. My first two miles, like most, are always the strongest. I may clock the first two miles at 9:30 or 9:40 minute mile pace, but the third mile is already 10:06, the fourth mile is 10:20-10:40 and by mile five I’m running sub 11:00, downward to 11:20.
As the article states? I had been doing SIT (stride interval training). After my workout runs, I’d recover down to about 115bpm and perform a “target HR” sprint. At first they came to an end faster than 8 seconds, I think. But now I can go for close to 15 seconds. They are incredibly beneficial and keep your fast twitch trained. Something you’ll be concerned with, in the end.
Conclusion
HR monitoring, if anything, has proved to be insightful. For instance, I found aiming for 180 strides per minute is entirely stressful on my HR, while running 160-165 is the ticket for my HR efficiency…at least at workout speeds. I’ve also discovered a good breathing pattern, that, for me, is a deep belly breath, followed by a long exhale, but only exhaling half of my breath, and then another full belly breath, followed by a long depleting exhale, and a full belly breath. So every other exhale is only expelling half of what’s in my lungs. By long exhale, I guess I mean I exhale over 3-4 steps. And although I’m good at keeping my back straight, I found that if I forgot to lean forward more, I take more of an HR hit. Leaning forward some is incredibly important. It uses your weight as momentum working for you.
Hi Flo,
Firstly I really enjoy your articles and podcasts so thanks!
I took up running in the last few weeks – just doing 5ks and came across MAF training last week and have done 3 runs with my heart rate zone of 145 to date. I find I can run the first km (very very slowly) but literally as soon as my heart rate hits 145 and over I have to stop to walk for 20 seconds or so.. Then run slowly but it will hit 150 within seconds so is quite frustrating!
Is this normal and should I stick it out?
I am 35 and a fit person.. All be it never having done distance running.. 8.5 km this morning is the longest run I have ever done!
I used to play a lot of rugby and was always quite quick.. I think my aerobic fitness is terrible but I still didn’t expect to literally have to walk for the majority of the run!
I have a good diet and am in good shape. Also get circa 8 hours sleep a night!
I have ordered a heart rate strap so hopefully this will improve matters with some more precise information.
Any info you can give me would be great!
Regards
Ross
I just started running again within the last 2.5 months after not running for a while. I have started and stopped running every few months, lol. Getting over the “hump” is the most difficult and I usually quit. With MAF, I have felt really good!
My MAF is 130…
I started with 1/8 mile “jogs” and 1/8 mile walks and built up from there. I am now jogging around 3 miles every other day and am up to 5 miles on my weekend run. The issue is, I am “jogging” an 18 minute mile! If I go any faster, my heart rate goes over 130. While I was never a fast runner, I was able to run 8-9 minute miles just 5 years ago. As I jog what seems like a comfortable pace, my heart rate hits 130 and then I slow my pace down to around 120 and then I speed my pace up and when it hits 130, I slow the pace down.
The Good: I lost like 10 pounds! I feel good after my runs.
The Bad: My pace is agonizingly slow. I’m starting to wonder if I should abandon MAF and just go at my comfortable pace?
18 minute mile… I feel like I can walk faster!
I have the problem of needing to pick up my pace to reach my MAF zone. A “normal” aerobic run for me results in an average heart rate that is lower than my target MAF rate. Any feedback/suggestions?
I feel that if I increase my efforts to reach my target rate, I’ll get fatigued during the run. Should I try anyway?
Hi, I just got into running for around 4 months. At first, I’m doing the Galloway run/walk/run program. Early this year I stumble upon the MAF method. While doing the Galloway program, one of the main things is cadence drill so I always trained my cadence around 180 – 190. When starting MAF, I couldn’t run even for a minute with that range of cadence. So should I lower my cadence or should I just do run/walk/run with higher cadence to control my heart rate? I read that a higher cadence could avoid some injuries. I also read that you said about an 8-second sprint, would it give the same effect on MAF training compared to a really slow jog all the way through? Or does it didn’t matter whatever you do as long as you do it below your MAF heart rate?
I’ve been doing the MAF training method for 2.5 months and can already see improvements. I went from a crazy slow 8 minutes per km with my watch constantly vibrating to a 5:48 minutes per km this morning, with a much quieter watch. It is still slow compared to my previous runs, but seeing improvements is encouraging. Plus the slower pace doesn’t make me tired, in fact, when I’m done I feel like I could run the same 10k all over again. If you find the pace boring, I recommend listening to podcasts, time seems to be flying by when I’m absorbed in a conversation. Good luck.
I am new to MAF and running as a whole. I am 50, close to 300 lbs and am training to run a 5k in October (six months from now).
Currently, I am only going for about 30 minutes at a time with the goal of increasing along the way. I am in this for the long run and do not expect immediate results.
Any advice on what to do differently or better?
Hi Floris,
I am loving your inspirational blog and newsletters. 20 weeks ago I started out from scratch and have been on the MAF formula since and are aiming for Berlin ½Marathon on 7 April in about 20 weeks. The first 10 weeks I was adjusting my pace and getting to know my body.
Usually I run on a treadmill and the pace I found to fit me was 06:31 min/km and I have been aiming at increasing my effort by 8-10% (minutes of running) for 3 weeks and resting 1 week at 50% of the last week of the cycle. I am 50 years old and so my MAF HR is 130. This month my max HR is around 127 and my average is 117 last month my max was 130 and my average 120. In the coming weeks I plan to increase the average running pace by 2% per week while continuing with the effort increases.
I plan to keep running 5 times a week and make incremental increases every week. this means that according to my plan thus far – the last week before the race I will be running 5 times a week around 8km every time. I am really looking forward to see the result of this in April.
Cheers!