Vdot pace doesn't match up
I'm in beginner half marathon plan, week 7. I tested last week and my vdot was 32.12, making my easy (Zone 1) pace 12:02 (or 120-143 bpm). Last Saturday I was supposed to do 8 miles at Zone 1, then 2 at Zone 4 in a total of 90 minutes. Simply put, I cannot run the 8 miles in zone 1 and then 2 in zone 4 in 90 minutes. To keep my heart rate below 143 is more like a 14 minute pace, not a 12 minute pace, and therefore my runs are way more than 90 minutes. I'm totally confused. Should I focus on the pace suggested by the vdot calculator or the target heart rate zone. I can't even run 8 miles at a 12 mile pace and complete the work out in 90 minutes either. Thanks for any suggestions on what to do here!
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Comments
1 -- you should run the Paces, not the HR, if you know the paces. I am not worried about your HR as a guide, just something you observe as you run as in, I am running Z1, 12:02s, and when I do that I see an HR of usually XYZ....etc. This will get refined over time so that you get much better at knowing when the workout effort is typical or not!
The main reason for ^this^ approach is that you ran the 5k. This isn't some crazy thing using Age Minus HR Times Your Zodiac Sign.
2 -- Zone 1 is hard for folks to run. I am willing to flex a bit up until 30" slower per mile than your Zone 2 Marathon Pace....but remember that the easy running we do it so set you up for running the fast stuff. Too many "medium fast" runs will hurt your overall ability to do the hard work required to get faster!