Most of the time when I run I judge my effort by feel or Rate of Perceived Exertion RPE. While I am tracking my pace and HR, I don't usually look at the data when I'm running. I just review it afterwards and compare to how I felt during the workout. I am really trying to develop the sense of "feel" so I don't have to constantly rely on the realtime data. Plus, it helps when I actually want to use it (on long runs for example). I don't need to be constantly checking my watch to tell if I'm pushing too hard.
Well, today was just one of those days where things didn't feel right. I was losing mental focus. I felt like I was breathing heavier than I should and needing to push harder than I should just to keep what felt like an average pace.
As it turns out, my pace was right about where I thought it would be, in the low 9 mins/mile. But my average HR was only 133 BPM. That's is lower than I thought it should be. I also usually see a spike in HR when I first start out (especially when I don't warm up first). I didn't see that either.
So what does this mean? Why is my HR not reacting when my body feels like it's pushing harder?
From what I have read and heard, not being to get your HR up is either a sign of increased fitness or increased fatigue. In my case I'm going with fatigue. Sleep seems to be a luxury for me these last couple of days. Also, I just changed jobs at work so that is adding more stress to my life. I think it's just adding up. I will keep an eye on this over the next couple of days and see how it goes. Also, I'll work on getting more sleep.
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