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As it seems to be question time at the moment!! I wonder if I can ask one too please?

I have completed my base training and am now turning my attention towards more specific Marathon training - What do you consider to be a realistic % of high heart rate to be an achieveable average over the 26.2 miles?

I have run one marathon before and returned exhausted with just over 90% of HHR as average, this was probably made this high by running the last miles with a HR well over 90% with the majority run at 87 - 88%

What are peoples thoughts and actual finding on this please?

Thanks Nick.  

Brian. wrote (see)

Hi Nick, Don't panic! What you are seeing is normal.
I guess you've put a little weight on, and 3 weeks is enough of a break to lose fitness.
All of your 12 weeks work will not have been wasted though, and it will come back quicker than it did prior to Xmas if you do the right things.
If I were you I'd certainly do another 2 weeks at <75% and see where you are.
Infact I would keep up the lower intensity until you reach the level of where you were before Xmas.
My guess is this will still leave you at least 6 weeks to tackle some 80% (or MP) work, in prep for your marathon.

Brian,

Many thanks for your advice a few weeks back, I was beginning to panic after seeing my improvements made following Hadd's theory come undone after Xmas.

I have followed your advice and seen things steadily improve to almost back where they were, I am amazed at how much damage was done after a 3 week break though.

I am now starting to work in some MP runs and finding this relatively easy, things seem to be coming back on track.

Thank you for the words of encouragement...

 Nick.

HELP! Please....

I have been a Hadd follower for the past 4 months and have trained at sub 75% heart rate religiously up to Christmas.

Mostly my training has been on the road but I have once a week run on a treadmill doing 10k at a slow 9kph (10.40 miles) and have monitored my average heart rate over the 12 weeks and seen it drop from a 135 to 127, if i was to plot this on a graph it would be almost a perfect downhill trend over the 12 weeks.

I was so pleased, as on the road I was seeing my 75% Ave heart rate return a improvement of 55 seconds per mile over this period.

I then went away for a 3 week break in the sun over Christmas and New Year and that's when it seems to have gone completely wrong....

I have come back and seen ridiculously high heart rates on my road runs and was beginning to think that my monitor was playing up but last night I done my 10k, 9kph treadmill run (same machine as normal) and returned a average HR of 146 - this is 19 beats a minute faster than just before Christmas!!! and 11 beats higher than when I first started sub 75% training 

For the 3 weeks over Christmas I did not train at all, eat and drank too much but can this really be the cause, especially as I have now been back for 2 weeks and have run nearly every day.

I am really at a loss to understand what has happened as this is not a one off, it has been the same ever since I returned.

If anyone has any idea's I they would be very welcome as I really do not know what to do next as my aim was a marathon mid April and there does not seem to be time to do another block of sub 75% training and start squeezing from the bottom again. 

Thanks Nick

SLM - I think you are right about the wafty H/R readings, I have been experiencing the same of late.

I think it's due to running at only 70% Max H/R and the colder weather and not generating enough sweat to keep good contact.

Still can't bring myself to get the KY Jelly out though...!!