I’m three months into using the Maffetone Method to try and improve my running time. I celebrated this three month anniversary with a really cold race.
Let’s start with some pictures, shall we?
At the end of another 30 days, I’ve found that my pace has improved. Which is exactly what I have been working towards.
Before we begin, a note on the data:
I took off September from the data because it was a short month from a training perspective. I started using the Maffetone Method at the end of September, with only 10 days trained in the month. What I found was that I didn’t really have enough data to determine anything between September and October. So out September goes.
That said, as I settled into the Maffetone Method, I found that my average pace jumped up 49 seconds between October and November. I wrote earlier how frustrating I found that.
Now, with another month logged, my average pace came down 21 seconds. I figure this is for a couple of reasons:
- New shoes – love em.
- More runs – one of the challenges I had in November, and why I think that my pace went the wrong way that month was due to a lack of runs, and by extension, mileage. December found me running more and longer each time. This is especially interesting because, due to the holiday madness, I went nearly two straight weeks without running. So technically the data for December is for the first two weeks. Imagine what I might have accomplished with two additional weeks of running.
What I’m finding is that the more I run in a Maffetone way (i.e., really, really slowly), the more I enjoy the running. I’m just out on the road, cruising along, taking deep rhythmic breaths, and enjoying (when it’s not dark) the stark beauty of winter.
What I haven’t quite been able to do is push the mileage. On a normal morning run, I get in five miles. I’d like to push the weekend runs higher, but finding time over the holidays was, shall we say, problematic. I’d like to say that I’ll find time to do some longer runs in January, but the weekends are already jammed, so that will probably have to wait until February.
So that’s month three. See you in another 30 days.
Scott C Lyerly 