Comments on: I Know Why

By: AdventureArtist

AdventureArtist — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 23:07:58 +0000

As per HR. I had a few chats with Coach Roy Benson. He is currently working on a book about HR training. I do not think it will be out until late next summer but that is a big area of research for him.

By: Joe Garland

Joe Garland — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 19:01:41 +0000

A reminder: Plug in any devices that need plugging in. Don’t want to get a “Low Battery” message on your Garmin (as I did this morning on mine).

Have fun.

By: A muse

A muse — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:28:13 +0000

It’s a relief knowing why — of course you can reset all your HR data after the big race if you want to continue using HR as a training tool. As for smoking, I tried playing the guitar once when stoned (this was more than 20 yrs. ago) and the effect was my right hand “forgot” to play on occasion. It was like “oh yeah, you need both hands to work in coordination to play this thing.” So there you go, a musician who doesn’t smoke.

By: Kazz

Kazz — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 18:08:54 +0000

You know, I think you might have vaguely alluded to it on some random BQ ladies discussion a long time ago, but had no idea that it was a regular habit for you up until recently. Good for you to commit to leaving it in the past. You’re right, plenty among us have done things that seemed like a good idea at the time, only to realize later that it wasn’t such a good idea. Maybe this will get someone reading your blog to think about kicking their own performance detracting habit(s). You’re just going to get faster from here on out!

(Oh, and glad you appreciated my “you put your weed in there” clip yesterday…I almost didn’t post it but figured you wouldn’t be offended.)

By: Flo

Flo — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:22:52 +0000

Ewen, good post, cool to know MaxHR is more elusive the fitter you are. I would like to see it again one day though. :-) No HR strap for Sunday, I’d love the data but want a free ribcage.

Just to clarify about the Max “improvement” remark: I know max HR is fixed and goes down with age, so I wasn’t thinking in terms of miracles, but if pot was making my HR a bit lower than normal, it is possible that it was inhibiting the full range. I have no emotional attachment to my Max HR, wouldn’t bother me if it shrunk 20beats as long as I’m running the same, this is all just fun sciency musings.

The thing with those races was my 5K (which I had done some 5K specific workouts for beforehand) had the same HR as the Half and was lower than the 10k…gotta admit, that’s unusual. Was a hotter race too, which would supposedly bring HR up more as well. But again, it’s not a worry, I just like knowing Why.

By: Ewen

Ewen — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:35:18 +0000

Flo, I’m sure you’ll be fine Sunday. I guess you’re not wearing the HRM, but if you are, don’t be alarmed by early higher than normal readings. Run by feel/pace, not by HR.

Re finding one’s maximum HR… This is much more difficult if you are very fit (as you are). The HR likes to stay “low” if you’re fit. It’s easier to find a true maximum if you don’t run for a couple of weeks, then do a test. If not, you at least need to be rested and then run something relatively short but at high intensity, building to a sprint finish.

Also, there’s nothing you can do about “improving” maximum HR. It’s pretty much fixed, and does decline over the years. Still, that’s nothing to worry about – for example, that Canadian runner Marilyn has a low max HR and runs at the elite level.

With the different distances, the average HRs could be similar, just because of the time the HR takes to build up. In a 5k, the first 1k is well under average HR. Also, if you haven’t been doing lactate tolerance-type training it’s hard to run at a high HR in short races.

By: Robert

Robert — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:24:59 +0000

Very interesting. I’m not sure why you quit and won’t pry into that, but I imagine you will find some nice increases to your paces after a while as your lungs heal up. I smoked cigarettes (I know, worse than pot) when I was first getting back into running and although it was possible, it was really tough. After I quit, I saw a huge improvement in the distance and speed that I was able to run. It wasn’t instantaneous, but it did happen rather quickly. I hope (and expect) that you’ll find similar results now that you’re not inhaling smoke into your lungs.

(Sorry this comment was about lungs, not the heart. I’m no good with that HR stuff.)