Low Heart Rate training is not something that I ever thought I’d enjoy. I mean it’s another number to track and without any speed work, how does someone possibly get any faster? MAF training results seemed hit or miss in the Facebook groups I joined, but were they really?
Turns out LHR training is NOT slow training.
It just feels that way because many have to slow down initially.
I was nervous like anyone who initially undertakes MAF training. However, within the first few months, I quickly realized it might just be a game changer for me. Now over a decade later and having coached hundreds of runners, I can say it works…when you know what you’re doing!
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Results of MAF Training
First I like to qualify that I believe Low Heart Rate training is different than MAF and what I teach. LHR includes using carbs for fuel because science proves the benefits (especially for female athletes) and we absolutely include runner strength training.
If you don’t know much about LHR training, please read these first or for additional information on how to implement it:
- Understanding Low Heart Rate Training – benefits and methodology
- Low Heart Rate Training Plans
- How runners I coach get results with Maffetone
- LHR Training Plans
Now I’m going to give you a quick rundown of my experience when I started using LHR and where I am today.
Round 1 Results (2014)
A 4 min half marathon PR when I was really hoping just to get 1-2…well that’s not too shabby in terms of Maffetone training for just 4-5 months.
But beyond that was my pure enjoyment of the entire training cycle. I didn’t have the complete physical break down that I often do during peak weeks and though I’ve had a little knee trouble that appears to be more from stepping in a hole than mileage.
Round 2
My first update was mid-January 2014 {2 months of following LHR}.
At that time I had run the NYC marathon in November and spent most of Nov-Dec in recovery mode with easy runs and lots of time on the bike trainer.
The biggest issue I was facing with MAF was that I actually couldn’t run fast enough to get my HR up to the prescribed level as the Florida temperatures dropped and my body wasn’t working so hard to cool itself.
**Note: Often times if you can’t get your HR high enough it’s because you are over trained. This was a unique case of going from 90% humidity and 90 degrees to 45 degrees, which is a massively smaller load on the body.
Since my legs simply couldn’t hit the paces it would take to maintain the high end of my LHR {148-150} I just kept trying to run faster at a pace I could sustain. No speed work because that does spike the HR, just consistently increasing my pace a little.
- Used decline on treadmill to practice faster turn over while keeping HR low
- Used incline on treadmill to increase strength while maintaining my normal easy pace and keeping HR low
- Used outdoor long runs as a time to keep pushing the pace and understand how my body reacted. Though I might have felt it was hard, my body told me it wasn’t which provided me the confidence to keep pushing.
- Aimed for 140-142 as my max HR
I think this month was huge in showing me the impact of temperature on how the body reacts. It’s much easier to keep it down when not also battling humidity and heat or the spring full of allergies.
Post Marathon, Race 1
On Feb 1, David and I ran the Best Damn Race in Safety Harbor as our practice race. Over the years since, I found that without even knowing it I was doing the best thing I could with MAF, which is placing a race about 4 months in to base building, as an opportunity to allow my body to push beyond that max HR.
I soaked in every detail of the race to help set me up for better racing in the future. While we didn’t take it easy on race day, neither of us pushed ourselves extremely hard.
We had a satisfying finish of 1:50, feeling really strong {finally with a finishing kick}, with my heart rate averaging about 156-160.
Occasional races are the one instance that Maffetone allows for speed work (until you’ve stopped progressing at base MAF), in other words when you can run without looking at your HR.
I chose to treat the following week as recovery, to make up for exceeding my HR because that was a sign I had taxed my body {see when to run again after racing for more}.
- 1 practice race {which is considered speed work}
- 1 week of recovery after the race
- 2 weeks of only LHR runs, not a single mile faster than 8:30
- 1 week of taper with knee injury the week before the race
First Full Cycle Race Day PR
All of this lead up to race day on March 1.
I had been setting everyone’s expectations low to save my sanity because honestly I didn’t know without speed work what would happen! Would it be a total flop? Would I run out of gas?
This was yards from the finish line, where I realized how massively I’d blown away my own expectations.
- 4 min PR
- Avg 7:56
- Felt like I was pushing, but never like I wanted to quit or was exhausted
- Able to enjoy the entire race
- Nursed 1 gel from start to finish
- Avg HR 168 <<< doable considering that’s not where I spent time training
I couldn’t have been more thrilled with this race experience. It was a course with over 30 turns, a few hairpins, and miles on cobblestone roads, so I had no anticipation of a PR that huge while feeling so good.
In the weeks post race, I could tell what a difference it makes when I exceed LHR because I really need more easy movement to recover. It took a full two weeks before I had an 8 miler back at my easy pace of 9:12 with a 136 HR.
2nd Round of MAF Results
After knee surgery in 2017, I went back to MAF Training to help rebuild my base before I started racing again. I have been sticking to it without a lick of speed work all year because it just felt good.
My last race:
- 95% of training was done at a 10 minute pace
- Race day was an avg 8:38 per mile pace
- I felt great during that race, my HR was only about 10 beats higher
- My recovery post race went quickly
It’s continuing to work for me, but as you’ll see below I’m going to start adding in some additional speed workouts to my Low Heart Rate training.
3rd Round of MAF Results (2020)
As the year shifted away from my goal of running the Chicago marathon, I decided I simply wanted to test my endurance.
This was another time to shift my MAF training slightly to achieve another new goal.
- I spent a few months running 5 beats below my MAF and grew my weekly mileage to 5oMPW
- I had no fatigue or injures in running my highest mileage since 2015 and post surgery
- I then was able to practice some better speed work by having that additional 5 beat cushion
- I am on track for my first ultramarthon this year
Long Term LHR Results
I’ve now being using MAF training for over a decade to keep me feeling strong and enjoying my runs. In my 40’s I’m hitting 10K PR’s without feeling worn down and I know that I’m on my way to a half marathon and potentially marathon PR in the coming years.
Yes, my max LHR is now 140 where it was 150 when I started. And yet, I’m still hitting PR’s.
I do see this start to shift with our athletes over 50 and we start adjusting their LHR numbers around RPE.
Long term LHR looks like:
- Including speed workouts – that’s right, after you get settled in your easy pace, then it’s time to add in speed.
- Knowing my body can’t handle the volume of intensity that others can, but I can do miles at LHR to increase volume and feel good.
- Continuing to improve overall fueling, even at LHR the body will perform and RECOVER better with 45-60 grams of carbs per hour while training. An RD dispells myths around sugar being bad for us.
- Strength training at least 2 days per week and focusing on slowly increasing weights to build muscle and get faster.
It turns out moving from FL to 5500 feet above sea level in Denver also made it a bit harder for me to keep my HR down. That shocked me for at least the first year in Denver, but I have continued to see improvements and it is so fun to race at sea level!
Maffetone method training is definitely NOT for everyone. It suits my personality and has really allowed my body to feel it’s best, which is why I’m going to continue pursuing it to some additional race goals.
Who should try the Maffetone Training?
- Those who get injured frequently
- Those who are over trained and fatigued
- Those who enjoy long steady state runs
- Those who don’t mind the lack of variety in types of runs
- Those looking to improve how their body uses fuel
If you like lots of variety it could feel tedious. If you LOVE the I feel like hurling effect of speed work, you definitely won’t get that. If you always run with a group there may be frustration because initially it causes most folks to slow way down.
But remember this isn’t the only run slow method. It’s about learning when to add back speed and then not overdoing it.
Speed work on Maffetone Method?
You’ve been diligently following MAF for at least 3-6 months and now feel like you aren’t getting any faster…it might be time to enjoy a little bit of speed training.
Here is where you need to continue being smart about training!
- I found that racing every few months is a great way to keep improving my paces without doing much speed work.
- Keep actual speed sessions short and to 1-2 times per week for a month. (20% of your total training volume)
- After that period, go back to LHR training for at least 4 weeks.
- Here’s a video where I talk more on this topic.
Any other Maffetone Training questions?
Have you experimented with it?
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