Reason #1 Why I Hate HR Training: Crazy HR Reading = Crazy Mindgames

Well it seems that instead of April Showers bringing May Flowers, we have had April Summer/Drought bringing May Monsoon. I really can't remember a day that has been without some sort of cloud cover or rain. This morning was no exception, raining when I got up so I would head down to the basement for 60 minutes at HR150 (ILTHR) on the TM while watching Biggest Loser episodes.

Now everything about the run went fairly well. During the first 5 minutes I needed to pause briefly to clear a screen that popped-up while running (Apple asking to update their software, why no thanks). Started out at 6.7mph and increased the speed 0.1mph every two minutes when my HR would be 147 or less. Once I get into the 148+ range I keep the pace the same, or decrease if HR gets above 151.

Missed a mile lap mark at mile 5, but around mile 6 I noticed the HR starting to creep up. I would lower the 0.1mph and the HR would creep up 1 bpm. This happened until I was at ~157 and I just said screw it and stopped. So instead of going for 60 minutes I made it 51+ minutes. This HR anomoly started around 50 minutes in.

Now, it was humid and about 66F in the basement. I really haven't been drinking a lot of water (I will the rest of today), but this HR stuff just plays mind games with me, and I am not good with mind games. Not at all. As of now, later in the day, I do feel a tad dehydrated which probably would be a good reason for the HR rise. It wasn't as if it was drastic, but I did feel different.....

Here's the gory details. First 6 miles good, last 0.68 were "What the....???"

Here is my HR graph over time, notice the slight ramp up at 50 minutes. Nothing drastic, but still sucked...

Also, after the aborted run tried to complete W2D2 of the 100 push-up challenge. Was still a little off and did worse than on Tuesday. Only managed 14-16-12-12-7 with 90 seconds rest in between. Will go for try #3 to complete this challenge on Saturday.

So, now crazy Jeff is wondering what to do about tomorrow. Should I run, run without a HRM, run with the HRM and not watch it, or just do what I've been doing. This is what I hate about HR training, I get way too over-obsessive about it. When I suck without wearing the HRM, I know I just suck. When I suck when wearing the HRM, I know I suck but I always have in the back of my mind that there is some underlying health concern or that I'm on the way to death's door. A lot of this crap goes back to two not-so-pleasant episodes I've had back in 2003 and 2007. Not fun times...

Oh well....