To all you regular runners out there ....

my heart rate ave. when running is 174-178 so my hrm says I'm over my target. I just turned off the alarm so it would quit beeping at me

My only suggestion on how you should deal with it is to figure out what is causing your knee pain. If it's flat feet, weakness in your quads, etc you need to work on correcting that. On the heart rate question, no clue. I only care about my pace.

I get that as well...do you run in a grassy area? Running on grass tends to help me. And walk down steepish hills! I find running downhill a killer

If you have to slow down to stay under 80% it means that you run too hard all the time and are aerobically underdeveloped.

I have issues with my knee which is due to hip weakness on one side. Its important to due strnegth exercuses to prevent and manage knee issues.

Good luck.

Quick questions:

1. I have a touch of runners knee (hot and a bit sore) from too much running. I have rested it for a couple of days, but hate to not run.Any tips on how to manage (avoid) this? I know I need to make sure I do a better warm up in future.

2. What is your running heart rate on average? I tried out my HRM tonight for the first time and after calculating my optimum range for heart rate, I struggled to keep it low enough! I calculated a max of 157 bpm (36 years old, 52 bpm resting heart rate, 80% of max) but had to run 2min per mile slower than usual to stay at 165-170bpm.

Thanks

1) Runner's knee isn't caused by "too much running." It is caused by improper form/shoes, inadequate stretching, or a need for building muscle. You can buy patella straps to better position your kneecap, but you should assess the other stuff first. Properly fitted shoes and hitting the gym cleared mine up.

2) Heart rates vary by conditioning levels. My daily training heart rate cruises around the 130s, and will sometimes get to mid 140s when running hills. When I'm doing tempo runs, it will get into the anaerobic zone, and I make sure not to keep it there for longer than 20-30 min, or else I'll be asking for it later.

Ok, thanks. I am not in pain when I run, it's a bit hot and tender at other times (I gather this is pretty typical).

I do yoga, but I guess I will have to look at incorporating some other training too, I have thought about joining a gym, but haven't set foot in one for about 12 years or so - after getting a bit hooked on going I went 'cold turkey' because I was losing too much weight ... then never went back!:huh:

maybe talk to a seasoned yoga instructor about your knee problems and have them spot if you're doing any poses incorrectly. I did pigeon incorrectly for 3 years and it turned out that led to my knee problems. Also, after someone adjusted my stance in Warrior 1 and 2, I realized I was building more muscle around the knees when I started doing it correctly! It was quite an epiphany for me and really helped me.