Today was supposed to be test run #11, but I suspended it...at least until next week, but probably until my resting heart rate drops back to normal. Today it was 59. That's one higher than last week and about 8 higher than normal. Something is wrong. I thought last week's high reading was due to my dentist visit. Guess not. There must be other stress producing agents at work...literally. Furloughs, early retirements, budget cuts, lay-offs, restructuring, big projects being derailed...the list goes on and on. Things better improve...or I need to adjust...otherwise this training stuff is not going to work out well. So, for now, my test runs are suspended indefinitely (hopefully only for a week or two). I'm going to use my heart rate monitor on all runs over the next 7-14 days to make sure I don't push too hard. And I'll track my morning resting heart rate more regularly to see if this is a momentary blip or an extended elevation. Sometimes work just sucks. I'll keep plugging away with easy runs. Hope to get a short run in after work today just so I feel better about skipping this morning's run. Looks like the weekend will bring warmer temps (low 30s) and no snow. Maybe I'll actually get in a long endurance run. Hope springs eternal.
4 comments:
Take this or leave this, but why don't you give yourself a break, put the HR monitor away, and just run based on perceived exertion? By now you know how it feels to run at various HR values. I mean, you don't have cardiac disorder or other medical condition that requires HR monitoring 24/7, right?
Put the dang gadget away and give yourself a break. Maybe the obsessive use of the thing is what's causing some stress? :)
Connie, who's in a mood to give unsolicited advice
Oh, and more importantly than the perceived exertion gauge, just run and have some damned fun doing it!
My HR would go up when my body knew it was time to stop pushing & put away the monitor.
Good luck.
Connie :)
Good points Connie. I only use the HR monitor on one run a week (and now plan on doing it for every run for a couple of weeks to re-calibrate my intuition). I have given up logging ANY runs or mileage, using a stopwatch, etc--except for my one Friday run each week where I measure resting HR, weight, average & peak HR during the run. I'm starting to get a kick out of using the HR monitor to track stress levels each week. I actually feel my running getting stronger...unfortunately, my anxiety and stress (not about running) is going up and up! It'll turn around.
Well, sounds like you know to adjust the HR values for the stress. Glad to hear you only use it once a week.
I hope your stress levels go down and you feel better soon!
Connie :)
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