Shoes & Gear heart rate Running in the Cold?
I am a 38-year-old female, 5’4 and 107 pounds. I have been running competitively for 9 years. I ran the Boston Marathon in April, starting and finishing uninjured. My time was 3:45 due to heat and my heart rate was normal.
In the past few weeks it has been difficult to keep my heart rate below 172 bpm when I run, even when I’ve dropped my pace by a minute. Before the marathon I ran tempos at a 7:10 pace with a heart rate between 170-174 and felt fine. My last pre-marathon long run was 22 miles at a comfortable 7:35 pace. Yesterday I ran 12 miles, slowing down to an 8:30 pace and my heart rate was over 170; I felt miserable.
I have never had this problem before and am very frustrated. Is it over-training/not enough recovery or lost fitness? How do I get my heart rate to drop and still maintain fitness?
- Tatyana, California
A: Congratulations on surviving a very warm Boston Marathon. Running a marathon is stressful on the body. Add in the travel required for you to get to Boston and the stress is increased.
Heat is very stressful on the body, especially early in the season; add to that the exertion of a marathon and this is quite taxing. All of these stressors take a toll on the body. Your body's response will be similar to those seen with over-training: increased resting heart rate, and heart rate with exertion. Sleep disturbance, recurrent mild illness, loss of appetite and fatigue may also occur.
It can take weeks to months to recover from this stress. Since you are struggling through your training, I would recommend 2 weeks off from training. You are not adding to your fitness by suffering through a slow (for you) workout but you are continuing to tear down your body. Let your body recover. Get more sleep. Make sure that you continue eating well as your body needs the calories to heal.
Hang in there. You are not going to lose much fitness by taking some time to recover.
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