The monthly summary shows us Kathleen's total mileage, total duration and total calorie consumption. It also gives a sumary of the % of time spent in each Heart Rate Zone. Useful information during your various training stages, like base building, aerobic running, speed work etc. Suunto's Training Effect was devised to make Heart Rate training even easier to understand and follow. Rather than worrying about how much time I should or shouldn't spend in each Heart Rate Zone, instead the Training Effect lets me know if my workout is Maintaining my current fitness level or Improving it, or perhpas even pushing it too hard Overreaching.
So from all of Kathleen's data gathered last month, we can see that almost 92% of it was Improving her fitness level (80% Highly Improving). And that's great, because this is when she's getting to the really long runs of her marathon training. Kathleen won't always feel great after a 16 or 20 mile run, but once she's keeping her steady pace, putting in the distance, fueling correctly, then it's all making her stronger and stronger.
Monthly Summary - Multiple View
Suunto's Training Manager Lite application allows for multiple different view of the captured log data.
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Training Effect with Activity Level - We can see from the chart above, that half way through the month the system updated Kathleen's Activity Level from 7 to 7.5 as a result of the data gathered showing her total time, distance, speed and thus a lot of great work done in the Highly Improving Training Effect category.
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Duration with Distance - is a useful snapshot of all the various workouts, how long they took and how far they were. Each column per workout also shows the time in each heart rate zone. You will notice on the 18th we have two log entries. Kathleen decided she wanted to do the stress test to evaluate her max heart rate, and she recorded 187bpm as she increased her speed every 60 seconds to the point of exhaustion. You may recall when we did the Ravanel Bridge run a few weeks ago, we also recorded 187bpm as a max for Kathleen. Therefore, at this stage we're going to re-set her Suunto watch to 187bpm Max from 184. While this is only a small change, it will allow us to get more accurate feedback on her Training Effect as her fitness level improves.
An important point to note: Increasing Kathleen's max heart rate from 184 to 187 is not due to her fitness level increasing, it is due to the fact that Kathleen, like most of us, doesn't fall into the general rule of thumb that your max heart rate is 220 less your age. Higher or lower max heart rate figures are most often genetic. It's also important to remember that this is Kathleen's max heart rate for running. Other, less weight bearing sports such as swimming or biking will most likely have an even higher max heart rate. What does happen as Kathleen's fitness level improves is that she can now workout for longer periods of time at heart rates closer to her max heart rate, and she's increasing her lactate threshold and VO2, which basically allows her to train or race harder for longer periods of time before exhaustion and stiffness occur.
Of course, for a novice marathon runner, Kathleen's not going to run anywhere close to her max heart rate for the marathon (only sprinters run at very high heart rates for very short periods of time). Basically the purpose of Kathleen's training is to allow her to run in Zone 3 for as long as possible. Zone 3 is the Aerobic zone, where she'll still be balancing energy consumption with energy utilization and efficiently removing lactic acid and other toxins. By the end of Kathleen's training, when she's ready for the big day, Kathleen should in theory be able to run all day at the same pace (assuming she can get fuel and liquids on the way), but of course we know she's hoping to only have to run for 4 to 5 hours.
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The above log list view gives us more information in a snap-shot view.
23rd September - 12 Mile Run - Daniel Island.
Here's Kathleen's feedback on her 12 mile run "My Sunday run was difficult too. An inspirational training tip I read a while back advised, “Not every run will be good. Bad runs are just part of the game, so stick it out and just get through them.” I thought of that over and over today. I could tell by mile 3 that it just wasn’t going to get any better. Maybe it was the Burger King drive-through dinner I had last night. Maybe it was lack of enough sleep. Or maybe I’m still a little worn from last week’s 16-miler. Regardless, I was sluggish and my knees were not happy. I ran at the MUSC Wellness Center so I avoided the heat of the afternoon, but for some reason this was my hardest run to date."
Melissa, Kathleen's training partner had this to say about her run “So, bottom line: it was too hot and humid today to start the 12-mile run at 9 a.m., when I did. The fuel belt (had 1 Perpetuum, 1 Heed, 2 waters) didn’t do the trick…I was so, so thirsty throughout the run, so I need to think that through better next time. But, I made it! And, you can now ask me anything about Daniel Island–a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g, because I ran every flippin’ street and trail! Thankfully, I ended with Recoverite and I think it helped…I’m pretty convinced I had a little heat exhaustion. Mental notes for next time–start early!!”
Great lessons learned, and that's why it's so important to do the long runs as part of your training. You learn how much to eat and drink, what's too much and what's just not enough. You learn how to pace yourself, you learn what pain feels like, and when to push and when to step back. Most of all you learn to physically and mentally prepare yourself for the big day.
12th September - 4 Mile Run - Ravanel Bridge.
07:00am at the Mount Pleasant side of the bridge, David Bolger (TrySports) and Kathleen set off for a steady run up the bridge, as the rain stops, the clouds part and the sun starts to shine through. What a morning for a run!
"Well that was a workout! Kathleen hit 5 on the Training Effect. A 5 generally means you're at the max, pushing yourself hard, which is great for short periods of time, but dangerous to keep it up for long periods, especially for Marathon training. Basically you're going Anaerobic. But let's be fair, we did stop right as we hit the top of the bridge for the 2nd time!!.
We will have to monitor Kathleen's next few runs, during this short but difficult bridge run, her heart rate was close to 180 most of the time we were on the way up. Her theoretical max is 184 (220 - age), so 180 is really red-line running. And from the results above you can see we recorded a 187. So Kathleen's HR Max is mostly likely higher than the average. That's why a Max Heart Rate test is sometimes a good idea, combined with VO2 / Lactate threshold testing. Not everybody falls within the generic formula (220 - your age) for HR Max, we are all unique, so testing is the best way to get the most accurate number. However as Kathleen is already 11 weeks into her training program, and has 8 weeks to go to her race, at this stage it's probably a bit close to the event to start stressing with a Max Heart Rate test.
What we will do next is the Step Test and also get her Resting Heart Rate, two good indicators also as to her heart rate levels. Based on that we can determine if her HR Max is higher than the average, and thus reset her base values for her monitor. We'll keep you updated on her results.
10th September - 8 Mile Run - Hampton Park.
With all her training data logged on her Suunto t3 for the first time, Kathleen was able to take it back and quickly download it to her laptop. Suunto's Training Manager Lite application provides multiple views of the key training data, and also monitors her Training Effect.
More than a heart rate monitor, the Suunto t3 helps you train with confidence by providing real-time information on the aerobic benefit of each workout. Are you over or under-training? Sweating hard enough to reach your goals? The Suunto t3 knows and tells with real-time Training Effect.
From the information above we can see that she averaged a 4.3 Trainig Effect, that's a great workout, adding to her overall fitness.
"Kathleen has shown the data from the part of marathon training that most people avoid. Harder, faster runs are greatly underestimated among most training plans. As long as she keeps up with her long runs, workouts like this one above are what will actually carry her across the finishline with a smile." Neil McDonagh (Two time Cooper River Bridge Newberry Award winner).
Nice job Kathleen, well done!
What is Training Effect?
Training Effect takes the guesswork out of working out. More powerful than traditional zone training systems, Training Effect keeps you on-target for achieving your goal, whether it's weight loss, cardiovascular health or shaving minutes off a marathon. Here's how:
Working from your personal fitness profile, the Suunto t3 analyzes your heartbeats and translates the data into a simple, one-to-five Training Effect scale. Think of it as a personal training guide. If, for example, you want to improve your aerobic fitness at a moderate tempo, you should work out until your TE meter reads 3.0 to 3.9 (2 to 4 times weekly).
Alternatively, if you want to improve your aerobic condition rapidly without the risk of overtraining, you should push yourself until your TE meter reads 4.0 to 4.9 (1 to 2 times weekly with a few recovery sessions in the TE 1.0 to 2.0 range).
It's important to note that Training Effect is relative to each user. While a novice runner might achieve a TE of 4.0 on a four-mile jog, a professional runner might have to complete an uphill marathon to get the same reading. Both runners will have to exercise "hard" to achieve a TE of 4.0.
In addition to Training Effect, the Suunto t3 displays heart rate, calories burned and zone training. It also shows speed and distance with the optional Suunto Foot or GPS POD.