I’ve been MAF training for about three weeks now and it has definitely been an interesting process.
Before I give you my update, I got a couple questions about MAF training
What does MAF stand for? Actually it is a person’s name. Phil Maffetone. The creator of this theory.
What are the benefits? It’s a companion to the 180-Formula that objectively measures progress and provide the earliest indication of potential problems in training.
You can read about it more on MissZippy’s site as well as Phil Maffetone’s site.
So..my progress…
I have, as any good Type A Program Manager would do, been keeping a journal of my runs in excel. Seeing it like this has helped me really look for trends and point out any progress, no matter how slight, that might be there.
Overall, I do think I’m feeling a difference. You might not see it in the numbers but none of my runs have left me feeling like I’m completely spent. Even after my last long run, I stopped, because of time constraints, not because I couldn’t go any further. I actually left a long run wanting more. If I had any gripe it’s that my hips started to feel achy but my aerobic ability to run was there.
I am slow, but I am starting to see some 10:xx show up in the numbers so I’m taking that as a good sign. I have learned that there are probably some bad running habits that have been contributing to my heart rate issues for example…looking down rather than looking up and running tall.
Looking down closes of the airways depriving me of oxygen. This seems to have a direct effect.
Running Tall..My grandmother always told me to stand up straight but turns out, I’m hunching over when I run and that’s causing me to labor a little more when I run.
So I’m focusing on form, function and my breathing.
A couple other notes…so far I’ve learned that MAF training is best done outside on a flat surface. Amanda told me this when we talked but I get it now. Every slight change in topography requires more exertion which causes your heart rate to jump.
Hills are definitely still good to train on but they do require a little extra attention right now.
I’m about to start adding some spinning back into the mix, which should be interesting. Either way, I should be able to easily stay aerobic which is good.
I’m gonna keep at it. At this point, it’s the off season, so why not?
What are your bad running habits? What are your off season goals?
I saw improvements for the first few months of base buildling in my marathon and really wish I would have done it a bit longer. I’m using it again to recovery and start focusing on half marathons…I feel like I would need a much longer experiment to know if it really works, but it certainly kept me healthy while increasing my mileage a lot