[felix.gottschlich]

Hey there,

im curently working on my aerobic base because i have some major deficits there. My estimated aeT is about 135bpm which means for me a 7min/km or 11:15min/mile pace.
I tried now while running if i can increase my pace while keeping the HR low. But no matter what i am focusing on (better heel strike, increase stride length, short ground contact..you name it) my HR rises quite fast.
Do the mechanics of efficient running not work at this low pace or am i doing something wrong?
Or is focusing on form exclusively for the specific training?

Thank you

Topic

[hafjell]

hafjell on October 31, 2018 at 8:23 am #14206

How long have you been training? During my first 16-wk plan, my mile time over 60 minutes was cut almost in half. But it took a few weeks to see gains, and months to see it really drop.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous on October 31, 2018 at 8:54 am #14210

Felix;
Improving basic aerobic capacity/function is a slow process and at the soonest you’ll not see increased running speed for 8 weeks and often more like 12 before the needle begins to move appreciably. Both running economy at slow speeds and aerobic capacity increases will be responsible for the speed/HR increase. We often call this the “Patience” phase.

Scott

[Anonymous]

Anonymous on October 31, 2018 at 11:18 am #14213

A comment on technique changes:

In my experience, it’s normal for HR to increase when you change your technique. My guess is that this happens because we’re not efficient when first trying new movement patterns. Our brains likely over-recruit the muscle required which would increase the load, and therefore increase HR.

It’s tempting to think that–after reading about the “best” way to do something–that we can just plug it in and see benefits. I think it’s more realistic to expect that those benefits will only come when a new movement pattern is old. With older movement patterns, our brains know exactly what’s required, and it’ll let go of what’s not, making the movement pattern less stressful overall.

As an example, I changed my running form from being a heel striker to landing midfoot. It took two years for it to fully feel normal. Now, funnily enough, if I try to heel strike, it feels horrible and foreign, even though that used to be my normal movement pattern. Now that I land midfoot, I have far fewer joint issues than I used to, but it took a long time to change the pattern.

[James H]

James H on November 1, 2018 at 1:58 am #14225

Imagine running over the ground rather than into the ground.