I'm not really a beginner but I still struggle with all the terminology. I just run and assume a) Fast is when it hurts, b) Easy is when it doesn't. However, I really need to get a bit more serious about my trainnig sessions and would someone to explain to me in Noddy terms what is the difference between Tempo, Easy & Steady runs. All info gratefully received.
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Steady - you can exchange talk in short bursts
Tempo - you can gasp single words
Flat out - you can gasp
If you want to get more technical than that, I'd recommend buying a heart rate monitor and a book on HRM training. John L Parker's book "HRM Training for the Complete Idiot" is pretty good.
You'll then be able to measure your effort level accurately on each run, and probably discover your easy runs have actually been hard runs!
I work in levels, with
LEVEL 1 – 50-60%MHR – FAT BURNING / RECOVERY - easy, sociable, no problems chatting
LEVEL 2 – 60-70%MHR – AEROBIC - still easy but chatting is in shorter sentences
LEVEL 3 – 70-80%MHR –UPPER AEROBIC – harder, single word chat
LEVEL 4 – 80-90%MHR – AT – heavy breathing, wanting to stop, grunts
LEVEL 5 – 90-95%MHR – ANAEROBIC – Very heavy breathing, intervals, Hard Race
LEVEL 6 – 50-60%MHR – FLAT OUT – lots of pain, long recoveries
Will
LEVEL 6 should = 95-100% MHR
Will