MAF Test Results
Sarah Walls
About 3.5 years ago I decided to start running.
As a child, I chose sport participation based on the volume of running required. Basketball? No. Soccer? No. Track…? Uh, NO.
Softball? Yes! Volleyball? Hell, yes! Weight lifting? Sure!
As an adult, I would do some running, sporadically. And I noticed anytime I went out for a run my mind really relaxed and I could get some good "thinking" done. If I needed to make a tough decision, I could go for a run and get it worked out. Pun intended.
But, I never really enjoyed the activity. It was so damn hard and, often, physically painful.
The prompt to “become a runner” was my reaction to working in a (virtually) windowless weight room for too many years. As I left my last job, I had determined I needed more time outside. And, I felt like I was ready to put my ego aside and start from square 1.
Fast forward a few years and I successfully made the transition. I love running now. My aerobic capacity is pretty good for someone who picked this up as an adult.
Now I’m at the point of wanting to become faster. I decided to give the MAF Test a try as the key performance indicator of my progress.
I’d never done a true aerobic base building period, but decided that this might be a great time to give it a go.
Here is what I did:
HR aerobic max = 180-age (for me this is 145)
I then ran 30-45min a few times a week and maintained a HR of 135-145. I was very strict about not exceeding the upper limit. Days that I ran were usually determined by my HRV value in the morning.
Despite Dr. Maffetone’s recommendation, I did decide to lift weights throughout the 12-weeks.
Results
Subjective results: every single training session felt really good. My body felt fresh and capable. Initially, I had to drop to a walk to stay in the proper range, but that become unnecessary after a few weeks.
Quantitative results: The test is to run 3 x 1-miles at your aerobic max and document the time for each mile.
My test numbers were as follows:
Feb 29, 2016
Mile 1: 13:48
Mile 2: 15:43
Mile 3: 15:45
May 29, 2016
Mile 1: 12:05
Mile 2: 12:53
Mile 3: 13:04
I’ll call that about a 13% improvement on the first mile and about a 18% improvement on Mile 3.
Mile 1: 13% drop in time
Mile 2: 19% drop in time
Mile 3: 18% drop in time
Cardiac drift from Mile 1 to Mile 3 was reduced my 7% - so, my heart is able to work longer at a better efficiency.
Looking at each test, cardiac drift on Feb 29 resulted in a 15% increase of mile time between mile 1 to mile 3.
But, on the May 29 test, there was only an 8% increase in time! Pretty cool.
Clearly, I’m not an exceptional runner by any means. But, I am making improvements, having fun, and staying injury free.
The last time I tested my mile at all out pace, I got around 7:30. My new goal is to drop that down under 7-min. I would also like to see my MAF test results continue to improve. I think if I can get mile 1 down to a low 10-min that I will have really done some good stuff for my body!
For the next four months I will be working on improving my speed at higher heart rates. After that 16-week block, I imagine I will get another 8-weeks of base building with the 180-age formula.