I don’t know how you build a house backwards, but if it doesn’t increase the chance of collapse… I went out today for a run. i’ll spare you all of the gory details, but I will say I ran 2 miles, then had to go home unexpectedly, then went back out for another mile and a half. I was hoping to do them in one continuous clip, but the universe wasn’t having that. The good news is I was able to get 2 runs, at 1.5 miles and over, with manageable pain. The second one, surprisingly, was way better than the first.
I also wore my HR monitor. I jumped to about a 170 near the beginning and spent most of the remainder at 185. It was a very weird run though, so I still don’t think that’s 100% reflective. But maybe.
Also, I put the Runkeeper app on my phone so I could try to get some reliable markers. The pace information was interesting… also weird. Is there something I should know about the app?? Or do you think i was really walking 5 minute miles? It’s like trying to get a straight answer out of my Guardian…
Thanks, @Nickyghaleb!! Sorry for the extra trouble with the images. These are good. I hate doing stretches but think I need to do them, too! I have the band’s already sitting in a corner getting dusty!
No, I apologize for the condition of those images. That shouldn’t have been that complicated, but that was that complicated.
Anyway, I have been doing them about 5 times a week, and the whole routine is quick. I also don’t usually get into these kinds of things, but “quick” seems to be the magic ingredient. Along with “easy” and “seems to be working”.
One of the standard forms of training is to build slow endurance first, as the foundation, and then focus on building speed. But if long slow distance (LSD) runs are going to cause you pain, but you can do speedwork without pain, we will just build backward.
So 3 miles today, and not much pain, right?
What type of HR monitor were you using? Some of them are not very accurate. Is it a chest strap? Or wrist monitor?
I highly suspect that the 185 was not accurate. What pace were you doing when your monitor said 185? We need to spot check that for accuracy a few times.
At the end of a run, you can just check your pulse for 15 seconds and multiply by 4. and see if it is close to what your monitor said. Check your HR on your neck (carotid artery), not on your wrist. It will be easier to find.
Do your check immediately when you stop, not several seconds after.
What is your resting heart rate?
There is no way you were walking 5 minute miles. It is possible to walk 5 MPH, but you would have to be really pushing yourself to be doing that. So I am sure that number is bogus.
If you want to get good data, put away the phone apps and get a Garmin Forerunner. You can get one for less than $100. You can also pair the less expensive ones with heart rate monitors that work better, the kind you wear on your chest.
Two separate 1.5 mile runs (one 2 mile and one 1.5). Not much pain.
Polar with chest strap.
That is definitely like my heart rate. In fact, I thought it might even be a little low… it’s been a while since I’ve worn a monitor, but a 200 used to be common. Saw a cardiologist at Hopkins, started medication, hated the medication, and, ultimately, stopped looking at my heart rate. My resting this morning was a 54. That has come way down… it used to be upper 80s according to a number of holter monitor results. The cardiologist also mentioned my having an “inappropriate response to exercise” and called it exercise-induced tachycardia. So that 185 doesn’t set off any alarms for me, but I’d be happy to do a couple of spot checks anyway. I’d also be happy to look into the Garmin.
I was only joking about needing clarification. I understand I wasn’t walking a 5 minute mile, but it is what Runkeeper was reporting. I downloaded it hoping to be able to measure out distances, but even that was not a smooth process. What measured half mile on the way out measured .8 on the way back… I turned at 1.5 miles and returned at 3.2. I don’t know enough about these kinds of apps to know if this is common knowledge. Yesterday was the first time using it. Again, I’ll look into the Garmin.
Wow, that is pretty far off for the same distance by Runkeeper. I’ve tried a few different apps, Runkeeper, Ghost, Google Fit, and even Samsung Health. The first three were just with my watch. Each of them calculated different distances for the same path and different calculations on related usage over the same path. I’m guessing the GPS has difficulty monitoring the path due to tree coverage. Still you’d think all apps would have the same coverage issue and same issue on repeat usage:( Of the three, Google Fit seemed to be most consistent.
Thank you. That at least gives me a couple other ones to try out. In reality, this is pretty casual stuff… this is a way for me to get organized and to get, hopefully, back into running a little longer distances. However, I put up with enough crap with all of these soft numbers with my diabetes, it SURE would be nice to have a mile mean a mile.
Have you been cleared for exercise? Some of the stuff I was planning for you was much more intense.
Just basing it on standard running calculations, I would be leery about you going above 185 with your heart rate.
As an example, using standard formulas, based on your resting heart rate, your Reserve Heart Rate for an easy mile should not be above 160. This is just a general ballpark, not anything set-in-stone.
But for the runs you are doing, you are over where I would want you.
Different workouts have a different percentage of how high you get.
Can you get medical clearance for this? I don’t want you to have issues when I start throwing hard workouts your way.
I have a cardiologist, neurologist, endocrinologist… all aware of my heart rate with exercise. All encourage exercise and none have said there’s a concern with my heart rate the way it is. I saw my cardiologist just 2 months ago but would be happy to reach out to him again if you would prefer. I wasn’t exaggerating when I said I used to frequent a 200+. I might still. Running is not my worst exercise… dancing is.
My heart rate honestly has done nothing but improve over th last couple of years, and I have seen cardiologists throughout it all. Stress tests show that “inappropriate response to exercise” I was talking about. But my doctor said it wasn’t a concern.
Trust me, I GET wanting to be careful. If there’s something you need, I understand it’s for my own safety. However, for what it’s worth, this is just the way I’ve done exercise for as long as I’ve watched it… 10 years?
Sorry for the inconvenience. Please let me know what to do, and I’ll take care of it.
And on hills! I didn’t mention this! I told you before that everything leading away from my house goes uphill… So that number is from during maybe a mile long hill… Would that change anything??
I gotta ask, how do you have any energy to run with your HR like that?! I have tachycardia (w/PVCs) - like you, controlled by meds but hated them, so quit - and even a brisk walk is challenging sometimes. Granted, I’m terribly out of shape, so that might have something to do with it, too…
A long uphill run would definitely make your HR higher than flat.
I guess it would be good to know if your cardiologist is okay with intense running. Ask what your max heart rate should be.
Of all the formulas for max HR, it seems none would apply to you. So it would be good to get an idea of what number we can use for different intensities.
Also - this is an important thing to find out - if your body responds to your higher HR with a cortisol induced liver glycogen BG spike.
In other words, do you have a huge BG spike from an easy mile, just because of your heart rate. I would like you to ask at what point he thinks your body would have a BG spike from cortisol, if it is relative to your heart rate. Meaning, do you spike before you have reached a high speed just because your HR is higher.
I don’t want to scare Eric, but if I slow to a walk on a hill, I can WALK at a 185. Honestly, it doesn’t feel bad to me. Thats one of the important points—that it doesn’t feel bad. I also do PVCs, usually above a 180, and those feel a little funny, but these things don’t make me sick. So onward.
One other thing to ask, have you checked your HR manually? Wondering it PVC’s could be messing with the heart rate monitor and giving false highs.
I want you to run and do whatever you can. But I just want clearance for the hard stuff. Because you will be cursing me 2-3 times per week once we get going.
No. Between the heat (a biggie right now in TX), kids, diabetes, muscle disorder, and tachycardia, I got discouraged a few months back and quit. All these posts are making me want to try again soon…maybe once it cools down or I get a treadmill inside, whichever comes first…
You’ve got a lot of legitimate reasons not do do it, but all it takes is that one right there to get back out the door.
I’ve also got a lot of things going on and am not sure I can pull it off. But I’m going to enjoy trying either way. And my treadmill is on the way… With so many things I can’t control, I like the idea of “setting” what I can.
And just because I can’t resist the temptation of the cliche… “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Maybe you could try a short night stroll? And don’t think of it as walking but as looking for the moon?
I’d be happy to check. I honestly think it’s just my heart rate. I do experience PVCs but with no kind of regularity, and my heart rate really pretty much stays up for the duration of the workout. I jump quickly at the beginning of a workout, climb quickly and then usually stay there until finished. I do experience skipped beats that appear as drops to a BPM as low as in the 40s, but they’re just missed beats. Stress tests and holter monitors have always recorded my exercise sessions at these kinds of elevated numbers… My dad, who was a runner, also ran high. Even in his mid-60s his heart rate would be in the low-mid 170s during a workout. We used to talk a lot about it. Anyway, I’m heading out for an evening run and will put the monitor back on. At this point, I’m just curious… again.
That shouldn’t have been that complicated, but that was that complicated.
Between the heat (a biggie right now in TX), kids, diabetes, muscle disorder, and tachycardia, I got discouraged a few months back and quit. All these posts are making me want to try again soon…maybe once it cools down or I get a treadmill inside, whichever comes first…