Heart Rate and Recovery Runs

In my running club they are having us figure out our Maximum and resting heart rates for training purposes. Heart rate can be used for several different reasons. In our club, one reason would be to make sure on your recovery days you are actually recovering. As runners, I think a general mentality is to just always try to push to go faster and faster which at times can cause more harm then good. So staying within a certain zone on a recovery day can really be helpful for your body. For more information on what an actual Recovery Run is, please click Here.

BUT, I have decided I do not like running Long Slow runs. For these simple reasons.... they are long and extra slow! So what would normally take you 1.5 hrs now takes you almost 2 and for what... to recover???!!! How do you all feel about this? Yesterday was cold, I went 12 miles and I had a hard time staying warm and not getting stiff and I felt it was because I tried to go so slow and stay within what would be my heart rate recovery zone.....CRAZINESS I say!!

Although heart rate is important and so is recovery, I have decided to recover only from 4-6 miles. Then, I am going to turn my long runs back into a variety of tempo and general aerobic runs where you run your natural pace or faster. What do ya think?

On a side note....

This is me sporting my staying warm in the winter running gear. It is important to wear layers so you can shed if necessary. When running I have found all kinds of trees, bushes, etc. that provide excellent hiding spots for extra layers that were making me uncomfortable. Be smart and stay warm!