Three Big Reasons for Training With a Heart Monitor
As most readers of my column know, I am a staunch advocate of effort-based training that involves the use of a heart monitor. Over and over again I have been seen very capable runners (not only those I coach but readers of this column) improve their performances within months of putting on a heart monitor. Former elite runners who are now coaches, such as Pete Pfitzinger and Grete Waitz, require their runners to train with a monitor. Both lament the fact that they did not take advantage of heart-monitor training during their competitive days. Here are the three major reasons why I believe training with a heart monitor can benefit many MCRRC members.
Most Adult Runners Overtrain. One of the things that led me to become interested in coaching years ago was that my race times never matched my training abilities. After I learned about effort-based training, the answer was quite simple. I had been running much too hard on my easy days and in fact I really did not have many easy days. Most of my runs were at 75-80% of maximum heart rate (MHR). After I slowed my easy runs to 60-70% of MHR (approximately 2:00/mile slower than 10K pace), my race times got faster. Slowing down on my easy days meant that I was able to work much harder on my hard days, thereby improving my racing times.
Heart Monitor Training Means That You Are Making Allowances for Stress and Illness. Years ago I used to train by pace because I did not understand how this can lead to overtraining and staleness. Resting heart rates are elevated during periods of stress and illness. If your resting heart rate is elevated, you will run slower at your target heart rate because it takes less work to reach that rate. Conversely, when you are rested and stress-free, chances are that you will run faster at your target heart rate since your resting heart rate is low so that it takes more work to reach your target zone. However, in both instances the effort is the same. This assures that you are not overtraining because a run at 60-70% of maximum heart rate is by definition a recovery run. On the other hand, if you train solely by pace, then on days of stress and illness you will be training too hard.
I am the first to admit that many runners are able to train by effort without using a heart monitor. These are often veteran runners who understand their bodies and do not look at their watches on recovery days (see reason number three below). A case in point is my good friend and MCRRC First-Time Marathoner Program coach, Paul Friedman. Paul learned from some of the best runners in the world when he lived in Boulder, Colorado. Paul's recovery days are almost always at least two minutes per mile slower than his 10K race pace.
You Will No Longer Be a Slave to Your Watch. Too many of us run by our watches. We want to enter our times in our running logs. This often results in racing our easy workouts because we are afraid that if a particular training run is too slow it is a sign we are not improving. Thus, we tend to run every workout at the same pace. I certainly was guilty of this in the past. This kind of training, however, means that you are not recovered when you run the next day. Over the long haul, you eventually become overtrained, flat, or stale. It is also very liberating to put away your watch. After I stopped being a slave to my watch, the joy of running returned. The long runs at Ken-Gar and my easy days on the Mall once again involved good conversations with my friends instead of the feeling that I had to keep pushing. As a bonus, my race times improved.
Runners coming back from injury or layoff often start out trying to run at their old training pace. However, their fitness level has changed during the layoff. They do not have the leg strength or aerobic capacity to start out at their old training pace. Moreover, they don't even know what pace to train at. If they trained with a monitor, they would get back into shape much faster because all of their early efforts would be at 60-70%, which is the proper effort for building an aerobic base.
I hope I have convinced some of you to try heart monitor training. If you do, send me an e-mail to let me know whether it works for you. I think it will.
Coach West is a licensed coach, affiliated with MCRRC, and available to coach motivated adult runners. A portion of his coaching fees for MCRRC members is returned to MCRRC. For further information about personal coaching opportunities, contact Coach West at kirtwest@comcast.net.
