Snappypix - I can relate to what you're saying about the skyrocketing heart rate, the never changing pace, etc. I just bought a heart monitor in January - same story.

When I first started running four years ago, although I'd been working out for a few years, I'd never tried any endurance activities so I started with 10 minutes of easy running and built up from there to over an hour. It was a training regimen from an article in Shape magazine about training to run a 10K. Sounds corny, but it was one of those life-altering reads for me because it focused on setting small goals and gradually building up to something that seemed out of reach. I never could've started with running/walking to achieve any sort of running goal. It was too much of a mental hurdle to overcome to convince myself I could run a certain distance or for a certain period of time.

Now with the HRM - well, I'm still not sure of my MHR. Using the formula of 205 minus half my age (I'm 44), my MHR should be around 183. However, I tried some intervals shortly after I bought the monitor and my heart rate got up to 187, and last week doing more intervals (and I didn't think I was pushing all that hard?) -- 190. Keeping my heart rate between 65-75% for a recovery run (124-143) means walking 1/3 to 1/2 of the time and even a tempo run at 87-92% (165-175) has me running slower than before. The one improvement I have noticed, though, is that increasing my distance is going much easier than before, both at the recovery rate and at the tempo rate. I'm still learning and adjusting, but I assume the HRM benefits are going to be more long-term.

Do focus on time with your training instead of distance. I've heard this lots of times and although I'm no expert, it does seem like if you're too concerned with how long it takes you to run a distance you're more likely to push too hard in the beginning instead of warming up into the run. The Shape article suggested hills and intervals after a few weeks but keep those runs a little shorter. They're good for variety and keep you from getting bored and getting burned out.

Deb