Heat and Heart Rate Training

While the heat has not been oppressive, it has hampered my efforts to run when I wanted to run this last week. I am using heart rate training as part of my preparation for CIM. Many factors affect heart rate, such as sleep, caffeine, stress, heat, humidity, time of day, hills, and the list goes on. This past week I concentrated on mitigating heat.

My recovery runs are meant to be run in Z1. They are supposed to be slow, so I wasn’t as worried about getting these runs in during the heat. However, my first recovery run was at 7:58 a.m. on Tuesday, with a 68°F start. My second recovery run was at 1:44 p.m. on Sunday in 83-86°F heat. I bounced like a pinball between the shady spots in the streets on this run and walked the last quarter-mile while staying in Z1. My personal heat index when running is to add 10°F to the ambient air temperature. Anything over 72°F ambient takes its toll on me.

My base runs are meant to be run in Z2. They are intended to be easy. My first base run was at 8:18 p.m. on Wednesday. The second base run was scheduled for 6:00 a.m. on Friday, but I my legs felt tired from Thursday’s tempo, so I opted for 1:04 PM on Friday and a 73°F start.

I slipped my tempo run in at 7:32 p.m. on Thursday. The downside of doing some speed work that late in the day meant my legs were not ready for my base run 11 hours later.

Saturday’s long run became strategic after waking up with a migraine at 6:00 a.m. I aimed to run in the late afternoon towards the bay, where there are cooler temperatures. The cooler temperatures were not free; they came with the cost of a headwind. I ran my 11-mile long run at 5:27 p.m. with an 82°F start, 72°F finish, and 7-12 mph NNW wind. Part of planning this run was returning with some daylight as I do not like to run the trail in the dark.

Overall, it was a successful week. I don’t remember trying to time my runs last year during this same time when I was preparing for my first marathon.

How has your training week gone? I would love to hear about it in the comments below.

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