HI paul.

I train with a HRM.  it is set to 85% max. I try to stay within that (i.e. 117-156 bpm) but yesterday the pace I "liked" put it at 160-172...so I just went with it. Not sure what being over the target means. I feel fine today and will do philoxing (I.e. a combo of cardio kickbox and pilates).

I ONLY do long runs for my running.  Other cardio I do is step aerobics, cardio kickbox, philoxing, and figure skating.

Notably, my times have NOT improved. I keep going FURTHER not FASTER. I would like to be faster.

Got any ideas?  Should I being doing SHORT AND INTENSE midweek?  Do I remove another cardio workout (i.e. my fun cardio kickbox?) instead or do I do this in ADDITION to it.

I love running, but I love the other stuff too. Basically, I have fallen in love with the gym and exercise..which is sort of ironic because I HATED gym class in Highschool. I blame it on being forced into "team" sports when I have no hand/eye coordination.

Please advise.

I am looking forward to doing a 20K in Leesburg Va in august!

I typically run 3 times a week with the weekend being a Long Slow run.  The past couple weeks my coach has me focused on swim and bike so I run 1 longish run on the weekend and it is at a fairly aggressive but somewhat manageable pace.  based on past performance and HR.  Google Tempo Run.

For mid week when I have those runs they are intense and fast but no more than an hour or so.  Some are Treadmill workouts where I can control the pace I need to maintain. Sometimes in a hard set it is to easy to go slower when it hurts and hammer at the end to get your avg where it should be.  Track workouts I use my Garmin and I can create custom workouts and alerts tell me what to do.

When I was simply running on my own doing hard treadmill workouts and pushing the pain point I higher I went from a 45 min 5K to a 1:01 10K.  I was able to do a Half Marathon in 2:20 with a partially torn hamstring.

My coach has taught me that one factor of running or any element I undertake as part of a Tri is Pain Management.  The ability to push past the muscles that hurt and want you to stop.  God knows there have been many times I have wanted to stop.

It is so different for each and every runner. You need to figure out what your stomach will handle without causing bathroom issues. If I am doing a two hour or more run I have part of a bagel about 2 hours before the run. I carry gels on me that are low in sugar and use them. I never take in the whole thing at the same time. I just slowly take it in and let my stomach adjust to it.  I will also use Gatorade water down a little. Next year I plan on doing a 50k race so I might try and see if I can add some pretzels to the run and see if stomach can take it. Best advice is when you start to do longer runs know where bathrooms are just in case.  

Update on this item.

4 Hour ride 80 degree temps.  around 2500 feet of elevation gain.

2 Scoops of UCan prior to ride (120 cal 0 sugar)

2 scoops 2 hours into ride

Nutrition wise was great do to the degree of some climbs I had Lactic build up in my quads but after some easy pedaling on the downs it flushed.

The 2 camps at this point for nutrition are Carbs and Sugar based products and Sugarless products.  Sugarless products such as UCan when used correctly promote Fat oxidation for fuel.  Carb Sugar based products promote glycogen carb usage.  Within the Carb Sugar camp you will have to experiment and find what works as different amounts of sugars and different types of sugars affect people differently along with the grams of sugar.  I don't think I have met anyone on the UCan protocol that has experienced GI Issues most people ***** about the texture since it is starch.