I'm a female veteran runner (45+) who has become aware of just how technical training has become. I want to run a sub-20 minute 5km and am wondering if time spent in heart rate zones can help guide me... my question is how long (in absolute minutes per week) should be spent in the different zones to achieve this goal.... I currently do around 21:00 for the 5km, in heat, ona fairly flat course... and used to comfortably run just under 40:00 for distances of up to 10Km just about anywhere. So I hope I can still manage under 20 for half as far!
Having used a heart rate monitor for a month or so while training my highest recorded rate is indeed precisely 220-age = 174. I'm not saying this is my official max heart rate, but it is the highest I've achieved over all levels of exertion in varying temperatures on varying conditions. My watch automatically puts the recorded heart rate into time spent in zones (usually feeling "comfortable but hard" when I'm in the range150-160 - what my watch calls super-threshold and aerobic capacity - and my harder efforts get me from 160-170ish - in what my watch calls anaerobic capacity). Anything up to 150 feels way too easy - especially when all my life I've been told I'm neglecting speedwork! although most training programs suggest that most time is spent in this range.
I'm collecting data for how long per week I am spending in each range and wonder just how many minutes/hours is the ideal, for my time/distance goal.