While I'm still getting up to speed on my heart rate monitor – I figured it'd be a good idea to outline my training zones. I'm optimistic that this will help me get into the aerobic shape that I'm aiming for. For now, that goal is simply, 'good'.
My Suunto automatically calculated my maximum heart rate to be at 192 and using other formulas 210 – (50% of Age) – (1% of weight) I've come up with an alternative 195 number. I'll just use the higher of the two ;)
With the help of a great Runnersworld article, my training zones appear to be the following:
Easy Run (recovery zone) – 127 to 136
Pace: One to two minutes slower than marathon pace
% Max heart rate: 65 to 70%
Perceived Effort: 3 to 4/easy
Talk Test: Complete conversation
Training Run (aerobic zone) – 146 to 166
Pace: Marathon pace or slightly slower
% Max heart rate: 75 to 85%
Perceived Effort: 5 to 6/moderate
Talk Test: Full sentences
Tempo Run (threshold zone) – 172 to 179
Pace: 20 to 30 seconds slower than 5-K pace
% Max heart rate: 88 to 92%
Perceived Effort: 7 to 8/hard
Talk Test: A few words at a time
Intervals (VO2 max zone) – 185 to 195
Pace: Mile to 5-K pace or faster
% Max heart rate: 95 to 100%
Perceived Effort: 9/very hard
Talk Test: Can't...talk...must...run...
See here for the original article: http://www.runnersworld.com/article/0,7120,s6-238-244--12397-0,00.html
