Well, hello there. It’s been more than 3 months since my last update. It looks like my last post I was still dealing with the hamstring issue. I am happy to report my hamstring is no longer bothering me. Although, I think I lost a lot of flexibility in my right leg because of it. I can’t even touch my toe now. Hmm…I should probably look into that.

With this new year, I’ve decided to try MAF training again. I tried it last year, did it for about a week, and then basically quit. For those unfamiliar with MAF, the basics of it is, never let you heart rate go above your MAF heart rate (180-your age, then tweaked a bit based on your running history. If your interested in it, find out more here) The goal is increase your aerobic fitness, and basically run faster with less effort. My MAF heart rate last year was 151, and since I’m a year older, my MAF heart rate now is 150. Last year, after a week of running under a 151 HR, I decided to up my HR threshold to 160, then after a week of that (I missed running with friends and actually feeling like I ran that day), I quit altogether and ran how I felt. This year, because I had such a big break between races, and all my running friends have either moved on from running, or moved out of the city AND, I was trying to make a comeback after my injury, I thought I’d try again. So, I sat down and read all 516 pages of The Big Book of Endurance Training and Racing. I am now an expert on the subject of the Maffetone Method of training.

 I am happy to report that I have stuck with it and I have officially started week 6 of training today. It’s not as bad as I remember it being last year. Don’t get me wrong, I hate staring at my watch for HR updates, I hate not being able to just run free, and  I get embarrassed when other runners past me (in either direction) or I slowly approach someone who’s walking, but I have learned to swallow my pride and do what I have to do. My aerobic fitness, I discovered was practically non-existent. For the Maffetone method, I am supposed to run a MAF test ever 3-4 weeks to gauge my progress. The very first day I went out for a run using this method, my first mile was 14:24 (yikes, I can walk that fast) with an average heart rate of 149bmp. I forgot about doing a MAF test the first week, so I made my first run of the 2^nd week my test date. I then tested again 3 weeks later. The results???

MAF #1: 12/23/2014
Test Mile	Time	Avg Hr	Max HR	Elevation
1	13:34	149	152	+12
2	13:53	149	152	+16
3	13:42	149	152	-21
4	13:54	149	153	0
0.2	2:48	149	152	0
Avg	13:47	149	152.2	N/A
Total Time	57:29
Temp Start	43
Conditions	Partly Cloudy
Wind	12mph N
Humidity	42%
MAF #2 1/12/2014
Test Mile	Time	Avg Hr	Max HR	Elevation
1	12:26	145	151	+12
2	12:45	148	151	+16
3	12:47	149	152	-21
4	13:04	148	151	0
0.2	2:49	148	151	0
Avg	12:45	147.6	151.2	N/A
Total Time	53:46
Temp Start	52
Conditions	Cloudy
Wind	10mph NNE
Humidity	40%

I was thrilled with these results. My overall average was more than a minute per mile faster, my average HR was lower, and my final mile in the 2^nd test, was faster than my 1^st mile in the 1^st test! I couldn’t believe all of that progress in less than a month! My next test is scheduled for the 1^st. I’m excited to see if there has been anymore improvement. During MAF you are not supposed to race, but I will be in Nashville in a couple of weeks and my sister and I are going to do a 5k together (her first!!!) and I can’t resist racing a race, and to be honest, I am looking forward to running how I want without being tied to my heart rate. By the time the race rolls around, I will have been at this for 2 months. Depending on how I feel, I may call it quits for MAF and start preparing for the spring racing season, or, I may continue for one additional month.

I have to admit, I am counting down these (possibly) 2 weeks. I can’t wait to go on group runs again, and make new running friends, and surprisingly, I can’t wait to start running hills again. If MAF training has done nothing else but help me appreciate the pure joy of just running, then I’d be fine. You know what they say, you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.