{"id":21044,"date":"2016-01-22T09:15:48","date_gmt":"2016-01-22T09:15:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.alananna.co.uk\/blog\/?p=21044"},"modified":"2016-01-21T09:43:21","modified_gmt":"2016-01-21T09:43:21","slug":"maf-test-progress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.alananna.co.uk\/blog\/2016\/01\/maf-test-progress\/","title":{"rendered":"MAF Test Progress"},"content":{"rendered":"

You may\u00a0remember that\u00a0I’ve been doing regular MAF test runs throughout the winter. The idea behind these Maximum Aerobic Function (MAF) tests\u00a0is that you are running at a fairly easy intensity so you aren’t exerting too much stress on your body. Over time as your body adapts, you become more efficient at this heart rate and therefore train your body\u00a0to run faster at the same heart rate. You are burning predominantly fat at this intensity and therefore gradually become more efficient at using fat as a fuel source whilst exercising. That’s how the theory goes anyway and if it works, you become faster whilst still using fat as the your primary fuel source rather than the limited supplies of glycogen stored in your body.<\/p>\n

Starting out with MAF Tests<\/h2>\n

I’d been doing OK with this MAF test regime before Christmas. I’d just come off of a year with a Plantar Fasciitis injury so hadn’t been running for months. This meant that I was essentially starting from scratch and the MAF approach seemed like a sensible way to gradually increase the volume of my running without too much stress whilst hopefully becoming a more efficient runner too. It started off well with some significant improvements at MAF pace.<\/p>\n

Initial Gains with MAF Test<\/h2>\n

Initial gains are always easy to some by, but my pace at MAF zone had dropped quite consistently\u00a0between September and November. Here are the results of my MAF tests during this time<\/p>\n