Run-Down Forums

[mlewis73]

Alrighty... I'm upset.

I ran what should have been an easy 4 mile run this morning... Temperature was about 70 degrees... warmer than most runs. I've been heading out with temps in the upper 50s, but we've had a sharp warmup in central Alabama within the last week.

Today's time was a "personal best" for 4 miles since I started running again in January (you will recall I'm still trying to get my knee back to 100% after surgery)... about 27:49 for a route with some hills. But I don't understand why I was working so hard and why I couldn't open a stride up without getting up to about 175+ on the heart rate. My "cruise" heart rate today was about 170... for the speed I was going at that heart rate I normally would have been around 155 to 160.

Sound like an acclimitization issue? Maybe I'm fatigued from four weeks of a very demanding (mentally) class I've been taking here, plus poor nutrition due to yesterday's activities/schedule.

There's a 3 mile race on Monday or Tuesday (schedule's subject to change). Any tips for recovering between now and then? I want to finish just ahead of the middle of the pack, but am worried about having a disaster like today... gotta get that heart rate down and energy level up.

Thanks,
Mike

[Dan]

I'm telling ya, the HR don't matter if the times are there... Be happy with it being a post-surgery PR. The rest will come together in time.

Dan
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[35910]

I agree with Dan. I am very leery of depending on that heart rate monitor too much. I have never used one, and I am quite sure that if I did, it would ruin a lot of my runs just because of overanalyzation.

You didn't mention how you [i]feel[/i]. You need to get used to running on feel a little more, and to understand that there are going to just be those days when you don't feel good, and your HR monitor is going through the roof, and there will be nothing you can do about it. Like you just showed however, sometimes those days can actually be blessings in disguise. Thats the beauty of running even when the going gets tough.

Like Dan says, if the times are there, be happy about that much.
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Jason Kotenko
Past, Present, and Future Runner

[mlewis73]

Thanks... guess I'll just have to see how things go on Monday.

I think y'all are right... some days it is just better to not look at that heart rate monitor...