I'm new to running and to this forum... I have a question about Maffetone that I'm hoping some of you folks around here can help me understand better. My main reason for reading the Maffetone method was because, while my fitness has been improving over the last few years, and more recently starting to run (albeit at slower paces than most of you - comfortable at a 12 min mile, with intervals between that and 10 min miles), I have had a lot of little aches & pains that never really seem to go away (shoulder, foot, now my knee... none of which were actually caused by fitness activities... for example, my brother's dog slammed into my leg and caused my knee to hyperextend at xmas, and here we are 2 months later and it still hurts slightly when I bend it... doesn't bother me while running or most other activities but when I bend it it pinches) and although I've lost 60 pounds over the last few years, the progress has been slow (mainly b/c I'm inconsistent with my diet), and I still have about 35 pounds to lose mostly around the mid-section.

I HAVE progressed from walking to running and running faster and feeling strong and good. I do weight lifting and step aerobics as well, and have progressed in both of those activities as well. I can do more, and feel stronger and definitely feel my cardiovascular fitness has improved a lot. I feel great after a good hard workout. That for me means I pushed myself to go faster or to squat deeper or lift heavier or jump higher... at least for part of the workout.

Today I tried a LHR workout on the treadmill and the elliptical. I was only able to go 4mph at a 2.0 incline (no incline had my HR too low, but I can't walk faster than that without breaking into a jog and it causes my HR to go too high). I was sweating slightly, but cool to the touch. I was not breathing heavy in the least. It felt like a warmup, not a workout. And it was BORING.

My main goal is not so much speed or duration, it's weight loss, plain and simple. According to Maffetone, maybe I have been doing too much anaerobic training and causing my body to burn sugar instead of fat. But I am so discouraged if THAT is all I can do for a workout with this method, I will not last. It is too boring, I feel unchallenged, and it feels like a complete and utter waste of time.

My question is this: How do I know for sure that I didn't already build a good aerobic base throughout the last 3 years? And at what point do you say "ok I have the base, now I can push it again." ??? I really dont' want to spend 3 months following this method only to waste my time and be bored and discouraged.

I know you all are really more focused on running and performance, but I can't find any other place where people seem to be educated on this method or concept, so I'm hoping some of you can help me understand (and really hoping some of you can tell me I DO have a good aerobic base and to forget this approach).

Thanks in advance,

Audrey