Starting Up

Hi Everyone, I'm a 54 year old guy in Hockley Valley, Ontario with an objective - an ironman in 2015. I've run since I was a teenager, with only a couple of serious lapses. The last started 2 years ago, and it was only in the Fall of last year I kicked myself in the butt (head?) and told myself to buck up. Over my running career I've done two marathons and two triathlons. All of them on a whim to prove to myself I could do it, without training seriously. Boy did I pay, but the mind was willing so I only had one DNF.

The ironman is a serious life objective though. And, as part of taking it much more seriously, so is my recovery from the last running lapse. By the end of last year I was comfortably able to run a 10k in under 60 minutes, and would have set 50 minutes as the next target. My Mum's Christmas present to me was a heart rate monitor, and I've been dutifully trying to stick to it. (Yes, my 76 year old mother still thinks I need presents - don't shake your head in disgust.)

But heart rate training is really challenging. Reading Phil Maffetone I'm working to keep my pulse below 126. And I'm stuck there it seems. On the treadmill that's just about a 4 mph walking pace with a 4-5 degree incline. There's only slight perspiration, and talking is no problem. Actually, I'm getting bored of singing while walking. After an hour, it doesn't feel like a workout; I could do it all over again. It's the same on the bike, my cadence is sitting at a very none stressful 70 chainwheel revs per minute.

The heart rate and pace are just at two uncomfortable hurdles. The first is that 4 mph is about the limit of my walking speed. Above that and I'm into a sloppy jog, that does get rhythmic until I hit 4.9 mph. The second is that if I do make that jogging transition regardless of the incline being dropped to 0, my heart rate jumps to about 140.

I'm concerned that I'll either progress very well into the ranks of walkers and Sunday cyclists, or that I'm missing something. Either that, or I'll get so distracted singing on the treadmill I'll misplace a stride and be sent flying through the window. Any ideas would be more than welcome?