Yesterday's long run (14 hilly miles) was reminiscent of other times where I've gone out for a run after taking some time off and finding that my heart rate was higher than usual. It's an interesting phenomenon, and I don't know if it's just a pure coincidence or has some basis in science. I chose to run based on how I felt and how I was breathing, which should have correlated to a lower heart rate, but didn't. There are schools of thought on this that suggest that the higher heart rate reflects a higher work load and should be considered as such. There are other schools of thought that suggest that heart rate may be higher or lower based on a variety of circumstances: heat, humidity, etc. Regardless, I just decided to go for it. It wasn't like I'd taken a prolonged amount of time off from running. In fact, I'd run three days before, albeit, only for four miles. And, I was only one week removed from a fairly average running week of 40 miles, which came at the end of a nine week stretch where I averaged nearly 45 miles a week. I'd also began cycling a couple of weeks ago. Oh yes, more importantly, as I noted yesterday, the past few weeks were a regular adrenaline cornucopia. The feeling of fatigue, and an increase in my allergy symptoms were telltale signs. So, lots of reasons for my heart rate to run higher during yesterday's run. Perhaps it was time to hit the reset button.
The first half of my run was fairly mundane. I kept my breathing to every 5th step most of the way, which would theoretically have translated to a low Zone 2 effort. My pace was actually right up there, however, which might have been an indication that I wasn't breathing hard enough for the effort that my body was exerting. Fascinating concepts that I don't always consider. I endeavored, on the way back, which begins with three miles of continuous climbing, culminating in a nearly one mile climb of around 8% incline, to stick to my Zone 2 breathing effort. Of course, my heart rate still ran high. I was doing ok until I got to the hill at the end of Mile 11. Something inside of me suggested walking up the hill. This might have (ok, it probably was) an indication that my breathing and effort weren't synchronized, and that my heart rate had been reflective of my effort. At the top of the hill, I got back to my running effort and maintained it until my final short climb home, which I once again walked. My downhill pace during Mile 14 was slower than usual, suggesting yet again that my body had felt the impact of the run. But, this is where the concept of the reset comes in. In my experience, it's runs like this that actually allow my body to reset itself.
In the past, instead of a long run like yesterday's, I might have done a shorter run with high intensity and high heart rate to get my heart rate response back to normal. It might be two sides of the same coin. Or, it might all just be a coincidence. While I will admit to some general fatigue and slight soreness yesterday after my run, I woke up today feeling relatively good. Not great, but good. My allergies seemed less intense, my soreness was minimal, and my attitude was good. Not great, but good. I got up, read the newspaper, stretched, and now am writing my blog. Read, stretch and write. Now it's time to run. For how long? I won't know until I get out there. How hard? The effort will definitely be easy today. What will my heart rate do? I'm about to find out. We'll see if I actually hit the reset button yesterday.
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