First of all, that 220-age formula is very inaccurate for most people. It would put my max at 220-27 which is 193, but my actual measured max hr is 216. So I wouldn't do any heart rate training based on that.If you want to find your true max hr, warm up with a mile or two first, then run HARD up a few hills and check your hr. That should be close to your true max. I would only recommend doing this if after you have been running for a while, otherwise you might get injured pushing yourself that hard.

I personally run based on feel. 10:45mm sounds a really good pace if that feels easy to you. That's in the range of what I do my easy runs at and I just ran a 5K in 23:17. I wouldn't change a thing, just listen to your body. If it feels too hard slow down, if it feels too easy then pick it up a little.

http://This message has been edited by RacingThoughts (edited Oct-17-2007).

thanks for answering, I'm going to ignore the thoughts inside my head then! LOL I must also say that I used to be an All-State running in High School and I'm no where near that yet but I think inside me I feel like I should be!

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-Jen
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quote:<HR>Originally posted by jclark77:
ok i have one. i understand that chocolate milk is a good recovery drink as it has that magical 4:1 carb/protein ratio. does it matter what type of milk (i.e. whole, 2%, 1% or skim) you use? i am a skim drinker myself. also, is there some optimal minimum weekly distance i should be running before i even concern myself with concepts like "4:1 ratio" and "recovery drink"?

<HR>

Don't think it matters what kind you use. Once you start increasing the mileage a lot and need a greater calorie intake, maybe switch to 1 or 2%. Skim should be fine for now, and yes I think it's beneficial for everyone to use a recovery drink. Strawberry milk works good too if the chocolate gets boring.

Here's my dumb question...

What's the difference between a "jogger" and a "runner". I'd rather call myself as a runner, but I've been going pretty slow. Am I really a jogger???

quote:<HR>Originally posted by RacingThoughts:
yes I think it's beneficial for everyone to use a recovery drink. Strawberry milk works good too if the chocolate gets boring. <HR>

Also good is a mixture of yogury and juice (both lowfat, of course). My favorite is equal parts nonfat vanilla yogurt and cranberry juice. It's like a smoothie w/out the ice and banana. Throw equal parts in glass, mix well, and enjoy!

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Leslie
Running Behind the Redwood Curtain

It's a mad mission but I got the ambition. It's a mad, mad mission, sign me up.
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I know the price of Success: Dedication, hard work, and an unremitting devotion to the things you want to see happen. ~ Frank Lloyd Wright
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that are on the course, you need to bring them down to size. Do the bridges that you will be running on in the race have pedestrian lanes so that you can run on them once a week? It's like Yogi Berra said about baseball - 50% of it is half-mental.

quote:<HR>Originally posted by Better than yesterday:
I think that if the main thing you are focusing on right now is the hills

If your race is still a few weeks out there, it certainly wouldn't hurt to extend one of your weekly training runs out to 3.5 or 4 miles.

Running the race will point out areas that you will want to improve upon for your next race. It's good to anticipate the hurdles and the potholes, but don't let them get too big in your head.

Good luck with your race.

Brian

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Thanks, Brian. No pedestrian lanes. It's a drawbridge - I would get killed out there!! I'll just extend my runs. My goal is to finish the race. I'm so excited about it - not for the competition aspect - but just for the fun of doing it. I've lost almost 20 pounds since I started running and I just feel like a different person. I turn 50 in December and I wanted to show myself that I'm not falling apart. After I had been running awhile, I realized my family had no idea what I was doing, so I took them out in the car and said, "So I start running here and I kept saying, "I'm still running. I'm still running. This is where I turn around." And they were amazed that I could go that far. I still am too. (sniff sniff)

Since this thread is now attracting traffic, it's worthwhile pointing out that there's a really cool resource for Frequently Asked Questions: the Newbie FAQ[/URL" target="_blank">.

You'll find a wealth of questions answered there, and you can contribute to it yourself if you want. Check it out, and bookmark it if you like what you see.