Training Plan

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Wearing the Skirt - Heart Rate Zones

A hot running day here in Utah. 53 degrees and it is time to wear the hot pink skirt. Yeah! And I choose a tech short sleeve shirt - wishing I'd worn a tank top. I got warm. I am on Marathon Week 14 and it is a rest week, I have another rest week next week too and then the following week has a long run of 14 - 16 miles. Canyonlands and beyond!
Today was for time, 30-45 minutes. I decided to do some speed work and see if I could get my heart-rate up. Now if observing me doing speed work it might not look like that at all. You probably would have to look close for the speed but you would be able to see me gasping for air. Even Tink had her tongue hanging out.
So using the run/walk I set a personal record PR for 3 miles, 32:12! So here are the mile stats: Mile1 10:42  Mile2 11:00 Mile3 10:30 and the rest Mile4 14:21.I was so excited to go look at my heart rate thinking it'd be off the charts in the fat burning zone, I wasn't.not. Click here for my heart rate graphs from this run runningfreeonline.com.
So lets do some heart rate zone research.

Heart Rate Training Zones Heart

The Energy Efficient or Recovery Zone - 60% to 70%
Training within this zone develops basic endurance and aerobic capacity. All easy recovery running should be completed at a maximum of 70%. Another advantage to running in this zone is that while you are happily fat burning you may lose weight and you will be allowing your muscles to re-energise with glycogen, which has been expended during those faster paced workouts.

The Aerobic Zone - 70% to 80%
Training in this zone will develop your cardiovascular system. The body's ability to transport oxygen to, and carbon dioxide away from, the working muscles can be developed and improved. As you become fitter and stronger from training in this zone it will be possible to run some of your long weekend runs at up to 75%, so getting the benefits of some fat burning and improved aerobic capacity.

The Anaerobic Zone - 80% to 90%
Training in this zone will develop your lactic acid system. In this zone, your individual anaerobic threshold (AT) is found - sometimes referred to the point of deflection (POD). During these heart rates, the amount of fat being utilised as the main source of energy is greatly reduced and glycogen stored in the muscle is predominantly used. One of the by-products of burning this glycogen is lactic acid. There is a point at which the body can no longer remove the lactic acid from the working muscles quickly enough. This is your anaerobic threshold (AT). Through the correct training, it is possible to delay the AT by being able to increase your ability to deal with the lactic acid for a longer period of time or by pushing the AT higher.

The Red Line Zone 90% to 100% 
Training in this zone will only be possible for short periods. It effectively trains your fast twitch muscle fibres and helps to develop speed. This zone is reserved for interval running and only the very fit are able to train effectively within this zone.http://www.runningfreeonline.com/act/493128/subView/Heart

So my question is, can a 55 year old women improve her aerobic ability and run faster?

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