New to MAF

by Anupama
(India)

Hi Nicole,
I am 46 years old. I just started using MAF method during my runs. It is painfully slow. It is around 11.36 per km. I am trying to maintain a HR of 120-130. I want to run a marathon in NOV. Will there be improvement? How long will it take to improve?
Thank you

Nicole's Reply
Hi Anupama, thanks for the question. You are not alone in feeling that running at MAF can seem very slow, especially at the beginning. This is totally normal, especially if your aerobic system needs developing. You still have plenty of time to improve before your marathon so keep at it and bit by bit you should see improvement. If you don't, then check your diet, sleep and stress and see if there are areas that could be improved on. Some people improve their MAF pace very quickly and others not. It took me 6 months before I could really see any results.
Also did you calculate your MAF HR correctly. 180-46 = 134. You could train at 124-134 unless you have also subtracted 5 beats or more for illness, injury etc. Please let me know how it goes :).