Just as your training plan will have a goal, each run on your plan should also have a specific goal; measuring effort enables you to effectively tailor your running to maximise your performance. In this blog we will look at different methods for measuring effort.
This is one of the simplest measures of effort you can use, yet research suggests it is a very effective way of making sure you are training at the right level to get the most benefits. Running at a chatty pace, meaning steady enough for you to still hold a conversation, indicates you are not overly exerting your cardiovascular system.
Going at a higher intensity, that pushes your heart and breathing rate so you can only speak a few words at a time, moves you out of your aerobic-conditioning zone and to a level which is harder to sustain for longer periods. Different types of running sessions will require you to push yourself to different levels of effort. The talk test can be used as follows:
Very low intensity – able to sing
Low intensity – able to hold a conversation
Medium intensity – able to speak in shorter sentences, needing more gaps to breath
High intensity – Unable to speak in sentence; only able to get a few words out
Very high intensity – not able to speak at all, as too busy breathing
A common and relatively easy way for measuring effort is the Rate of Perceived Exertion (RPE) scale, it is a personal judgement of how hard your body is working during exercise.
1 – lying on the sofa
2-3 – light effort – that does not increase your heart rate
4-5 – moderate effort – that increases your heart rate but does not make you out of breath
6-7 – harder effort – increases your heart rate and breathing
8-9 – vigorous effort – able to sustain it but for a shorter period of time, really pushing your heart rate and breathing
10 – Maximal effort – only sustainable for short bursts eg: sprinting
RPE is individual to each person, the main variables to consider when using the scale are elevated heart rate, increased breathing, and muscle fatigue.
Running pace is the average time it would take you to cover either 1 mile or 1 kilometre, eg: 6 mins/1 mile or 6 mins/1 km. You can use the simple calculation Pace = Time/ Distance or you will find easy to use pace calculators or pace charts online. While running you can monitor your pace using a sports watch, such as the Coros Pace 3, which can tell the pace you are currently running at and have alerts to let you know if you are not running at your target pace.
Using pace enables you to calculate how long it would take you to cover a certain distance; and plan your runs or races so you can use your energy efficiently over the whole distance.
You will need to consider the distance you are planning to run when choosing a target pace. The shorter the run the quicker the pace which can be sustained; conversely the longer the run the slower the pace will need to be.
If you have a goal race time you can then work out a target pace that you will need to sustain for the duration of the race, for example if your goal is a 1hr 50 mins half marathon you would need to run at 8 minutes 23.46 seconds per mile or 5 minutes 12.83 seconds per kilometre. Having worked out your target pace you can then practise running at that pace during your training sessions, or use speed work such as interval sessions to improve your running pace so you are more able to sustain running at that effort.
Another method for measuring effort and guiding your training is to use heart rate zones; there are five key zones:
Zone 1 (recovery/easy) – 55%-65% HR max
Zone 2 (aerobic/base) – 65%-75% HR max
Zone 3 (tempo) – 80%-85% HR max
Zone 4 (lactate threshold) – 85%-88% HR max
Zone 5 (anaerobic) – 90% HR max and above
A heart-rate monitor, such as the Coros Arm Strap HR monitor, will track how many beats per minute your heart is taking so that you can make sure you’re working within a particular percentage of your maximum heart rate during your runs. For more experienced runners, using heart rate zones within a training plan means each run can be tailored specifically to work a particular energy system in the body and increase running performance.
