Walk faster than run!

by Renata
(Croatia)

Hello,
I used to run by feelings.. on race(5K or10K)as fast as i can...and my HR is 180bpm at 6-6:30 min/km.
I do MAF for 1 month now (54 female)... did 12 runs of 5K... first 2-3 runs i did lot of run/walk to keep HR under 140 bmp... then I decided to significantly drop my pace to be able to run through all 5K without walk... I use Garmin Forerunner 30 watch when run... not sure if show precise data all the time... so i compare average data

my 1. run - run/walk:
5,00 km distance
49:36 time
148 bpm max. HR
131 bpm average HR
9:55 min/km average pace

my 12. run - after a month:
5,00 km distance
58:01 time
148 bpm max. HR
136 bpm average HR
11:36 min/km average pace

am I doing something wrong... should I stick to slow continuous running... or is better to do quicker run/walk method?
Thank you.

Nicole's reply:
Thanks for your message Renata. By my calculations you have set your MAF hr too high. 180 – 54 = 126. You may have added on beats if you felt healthy and not injured but if I were you, I would stick to the 126 beats for now. I also see that you exceed your MAF HR quite a bit as the aim should be to be in the 116–126 range.
It can be feel VERY slow to begin with and it is quite normal 😊. It took me abut 6 months before I could run the whole time. Even now after a few years of MAF training, I still have to walk on some inclines and hills. Give it more time as 1 month is not long.
I imagine that running at 11:36/km is quite hard so you may be more comfortable doing a run/walk. The important thing is to stay in your MAF range of 116-126. Do you warm up before each run as that is quite important? Spend 15 minutes gradually bringing your HR up to your MAF and then you may find that you can run more and with less walking. I often start with a brisk walk and then start gently trotting. I hope that helps and do let me know how you get on.