Um... yeah

Ok, so this is going to kick my rear end. I met with the trainer again today to go over the work out portion in greater detail. Here's the deal--
So, as you may or may not know, there are certain heart rate zones that achieve different purposes. Everyone's zones vary and they can change over time and depending on level of fitness. I learned that my "Base" in in Zone 2. Base is the heart rate at which your body burns the most calories while still using fat for fuel. Once you get out of the base level, you are burning more carbohydrate calories and fewer fat calories. The ideal is to burn more fat calories. So, my base is 173-178 bpm. My "Threshold" is 183 bpm, which is the last stop for burning fat. Beyond that, I would be burning nothing but carbs and over exerting myself. Because of all of the running I've done, these are pretty high, which is great, but it means that I have to work pretty hard to reach the highest level of efficiency. As I proceed with zone training, my threshold heart rate will increase and I will also see and increase in the percentage of fat that I burn while working in Zone 3. The ideal is to burn mostly fat calories while working in zone 3. Still with me? Some of you may not care about this, but I thought it was interesting and potentially helpful to others.
What does this mean for my workouts? Well, I'll do zone training, working in each zone for certain periods of time in order to burn more fat and increase my body's efficiency. On days that I do just cardio, I'll warm up at zone 1 (163-173) for 5 minutes then move to zone 2 (173-178) for two minutes, then move to zone 3 (178-183) for 3 minutes. I'll alternate with intervals of zone 2 and 3 to reach a 45 minute workout and then cool down in zone 1 for five minutes. Each week, I'll add another interval until I get to 60 minutes and then the trainer will change my workout again.
I did this today and yowsa! I didn't even get to zone 1 until I was running at a 6.7 mph pace, then it took running at 7.4 to get to zone 2, and on up to 8.5 to get to zone 3. That's pretty speedy! I did it, but it was tough. Fortunately, once I got my heart rate going, I didn't have to run quite that fast to keep it up, but it was definitely an intense workout. I can certainly see how working out like this will make a difference. I guess it was about time.
As for the days I do strength training, my cardio will consist of a 5-minute warm up, 30 minutes in zone 2 and 5 minute cool down in zone 1.
Day 1 and I am so glad I did this!! It's really nice to know what I'm doing instead of guessing and hoping. I realize that this may not be available to all, but if you can do it, I highly recommend it, especially if you've plateaud like I have. Obviously, working out at the same intensity as I was a year ago just wasn't cutting it anymore. When you reach higher levels of fitness, you have to step up your game. I also highly recommend getting a heart rate monitor and watch. I love mine! It's just so great knowing that I'm working out effectively. So now I just keep plugging away at this and see what happens. Thanks for all of the support I'm getting. Hopefully this information is helpful to more than just me. :)