quote:<HR>Originally posted by dfcameron:
Well... its been a while since I've posted; but using MAF training, I qualified for Boston yesterday for the first time in my life. What's notable, is that I ran my first marathon 26(!) years ago, and thought it would be a good lifetime goal but never made it.

What was the difference? First, I trained from Jan - Aug; starting at 35 MPW; and building to a 16 week base of 75-80 MPW at the end - 95% of it at MAF pace or slower. I never ran that high of mileage before; and would have been injured if I'd tried to do it faster. Second, I really wanted it this time, and knew it would be close. My MAF HR is 144-145. My Max HR is 187. I averaged 163 for the marathon; finishing well into the 170s. Mentally, I couldn't even tell you what the scenery was like the last 4 miles - it was tunnel vision.

Anyway... this stuff really works. Most of my training was around 9:30 min/mi pace (ranging from 8:45 min/mi pace to 11:00 min/mi pace) - and I finished the marathon in a little under 8:00 min/mi pace.<HR>

Congratulations, DF!!!!! That's awesome. BQ!
If you can provide splitsahol for us splitsaholics, thet would be cool.

Keep going!

--Jimmy

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Thanks to everyones help & assistance I did it and finished my first marathon last WE (10/13). I truly believe the focused long-term dedication to MAF training paid off and was key to my success. MAF training allowed me to stay relaxed and simply "enjoy" my first.

Prior to the race I was unsure of an appropriate MP as all runs where at or below MAF (MAF-5). Initially I had randomly thought about a MP 30 - 90 seconds faster than typical training runs (rough guess) yet had no experience at this pace above 20miles. Being my first I chose to run with what I knew best and ran by HR (not pace). Following the advice of several more experienced MAFrs I used the HR monitor to govern my pace.

Althought I have a long way to go, and continue to run rather slow, I thought Id share my results for analysis and comment. My aged based MAF is 134.

Time 4:34:34 161 ave/ 184 max. (walked through water stations)
mile pace HR
1-2 19:36 157ave/164max (missed mile marker)
3 10:20 153/162
4 10:04 150/159
5 10:14 153/164
6 12:37 153/160 (pit stop)
7 8:11 154/160 (distance??)
8 10:10 152/158
9 10:20 152/160
10 10:15 154/158
11 10:20 154/159
12 11:02 154/159
13 10:34 161/165
HALF 2:16 (pleased with pace - near goal target - felt great, holding back on pace for later miles)
14 10:08 162/168 (let HR climb +5 +/-)
15-16 21:19 163/167
17 10:27 166/170
18 10:25 166/172
19 10:32 168/171
20 10:28 169/172 (increase HR, but fearful of burn-out?)
21 10:19 171/176
22-23 21:25 (10:42ave - pit stop) 171/175
24 11:22 166/172 (slow running hills? like training)
25 11:20 166/170 (hills?)
26 10:45 170/177
.2 max at 184 (felt OK, but legs could only go so fast)

I still have a lot of work to improve pace/ fitness however am pleased with results. I believe I kept things in control and never red-lined or labored.

Only ran 2x for 5 miles total last week as legs recover, but am already looking forward to my 2nd in the spring.

labhicker,
Congratulations. You now have a marathon PR. Enjoy your victory. You can run the rest of your life. Nick

quote:<HR>Originally posted by labhiker:
Thanks to everyones help & assistance I did it and finished my first marathon last WE (10/13). I truly believe the focused long-term dedication to MAF training paid off.....

<HR>

Great job, Lab. You basically kept a pretty even pace with no overly significant slowing in the end. No wall! Awesome.
MAF training will do that for you.

It's natural for your HR to go up in the last 6 miles, and don't need to slow down to keep it down. You can maintain pace.


Keep going! Recover well!

--Jimmy

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quote:<HR>Originally posted by labhiker:
Thanks to everyones help & assistance I did it and finished my first marathon last WE (10/13). I truly believe the focused long-term dedication to MAF training paid off and was key to my success. MAF training allowed me to stay relaxed and simply "enjoy" my first.

Prior to the race I was unsure of an appropriate MP as all runs where at or below MAF (MAF-5). Initially I had randomly thought about a MP 30 - 90 seconds faster than typical training runs (rough guess) yet had no experience at this pace above 20miles. Being my first I chose to run with what I knew best and ran by HR (not pace). Following the advice of several more experienced MAFrs I used the HR monitor to govern my pace.

Althought I have a long way to go, and continue to run rather slow, I thought Id share my results for analysis and comment. My aged based MAF is 134.

Time 4:34:34 161 ave/ 184 max. (walked through water stations)
mile pace HR
1-2 19:36 157ave/164max (missed mile marker)
3 10:20 153/162
4 10:04 150/159
5 10:14 153/164
6 12:37 153/160 (pit stop)
7 8:11 154/160 (distance??)
8 10:10 152/158
9 10:20 152/160
10 10:15 154/158
11 10:20 154/159
12 11:02 154/159
13 10:34 161/165
HALF 2:16 (pleased with pace - near goal target - felt great, holding back on pace for later miles)
14 10:08 162/168 (let HR climb +5 +/-)
15-16 21:19 163/167
17 10:27 166/170
18 10:25 166/172
19 10:32 168/171
20 10:28 169/172 (increase HR, but fearful of burn-out?)
21 10:19 171/176
22-23 21:25 (10:42ave - pit stop) 171/175
24 11:22 166/172 (slow running hills? like training)
25 11:20 166/170 (hills?)
26 10:45 170/177
.2 max at 184 (felt OK, but legs could only go so fast)

I still have a lot of work to improve pace/ fitness however am pleased with results. I believe I kept things in control and never red-lined or labored.

Only ran 2x for 5 miles total last week as legs recover, but am already looking forward to my 2nd in the spring.

<HR>

Labhiker,

Sounds extremely consistent with my experience at Detroit yesterday. Great run!

quote:<HR>Originally posted by dfcameron:
Well... its been a while since I've posted; but using MAF training, I qualified for Boston yesterday for the first time in my life. What's notable, is that I ran my first marathon 26(!) years ago, and thought it would be a good lifetime goal but never made it.

What was the difference? First, I trained from Jan - Aug; starting at 35 MPW; and building to a 16 week base of 75-80 MPW at the end - 95% of it at MAF pace or slower. I never ran that high of mileage before; and would have been injured if I'd tried to do it faster. Second, I really wanted it this time, and knew it would be close. My MAF HR is 144-145. My Max HR is 187. I averaged 163 for the marathon; finishing well into the 170s. Mentally, I couldn't even tell you what the scenery was like the last 4 miles - it was tunnel vision.

Anyway... this stuff really works. Most of my training was around 9:30 min/mi pace (ranging from 8:45 min/mi pace to 11:00 min/mi pace) - and I finished the marathon in a little under 8:00 min/mi pace.<HR>

Awesome job man! Way to smoke that BQ!

Question though, were you adding beats to your MAF pace for 6+ days of running, etc.? My MAF is 144 (36 years old) and I need a marathon pace of ~7:30, which is why I brought it up.

quote:<HR>Originally posted by Scott3294:
Congrats Dfcameron on qualifying!!

I have another newbie question about MAF training. Last week I posted that I had just started MAF training. I am about 2.5 weeks into it. I had been running about 20 mpw at about MAF+20. My MAF is 140 but all of my previous running would get into the 160's by the time I was finished my 4 mile run. I am now running between 5 and 10 miles each session at MAF.
Now, to make things more confusing, I decided late Friday afternoon to run my first ever 5k (last official race was 23 years ago in high school, I ran the mile and 2 mile) later that evening.
I ran in a field of about 200 and finished 20th. (my time in this race would have been 64th in the last race here but still in the top 10% as that field had 640 racers). Needless to say, I am now HYPED about competing again. I doubt I will run more than maybe one 5k a month, but now, finally, to the question....
Can I still focus on MAF training...run a 5k a month...and see significant improvement in my 5k times?
Thanks
Scott

<HR>

You might, yes. Especially if you build up the mileage a bit. You would likely plateau more quickly on a 5K as opposed to a half marathon or further though. If you find that 6 or 12 months down the road you aren't improving at all, then it's likely time to add some speedwork to the mix.

Hey folks!

I just thought I would stop by and tell everyone where I am. I have now been able to extend my long run to six miles. Something i would probably have never done without LHR training.

Today was the six miler in the rain, 80 degrees and 88% humidity. I did it in 1.43.13. I just picked up a garmin 305 and have found a bit of difference in the heart rate between it and my old polar F3. I know the humidity had a little bit of affect. It was very hard to run and keep below MAF. I think I will do a MAF test this weekend to see if there has been any improvement other than the mileage.

Thanks for all the help over the last two months!

Kent

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"One foot in front of the other"
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http://This message has been edited by Fatdude (edited Oct-22-2007).