Why Your Heart Rate Doesn't Matter as a Beginner or Coming Off of Injury
Why Your Heart Rate Doesn't Matter as a Beginner or Coming Off of Injury
I get asked the same question all the time by so many people.
What do you do if your easy run still shows your heart rate in zones 3, 4 or 5?
If you are a super running nerd and are trying really hard to get things perfect, you may be trying to get your easy runs into zone 1 and 2. That sounds amazing in theory, but if you are a new runner, beginner, or coming back after time off you know that this is nearly impossible!
So do you slow down and try to stay in zone 2 at all cost?No!
If you run slower you are just going to get slower. And your heart rate won't magically buffer down when you do decide to run faster.
So what should I do instead?
Run by feel and vibes. Try to settle into a pace that feels comfortable for your body, not your heart and lungs.
Still try to structure your running where there is both easy and hard efforts.Running every run at the same effort can cause you to work a little bit too hard on every single run, which will slow down your adaptations. Defining hard days and easy days helps ensure you have better balance.
Increase the amount of days you are running before the length of runs.You will get more benefits from running more times a week even if it is only for a mile or two. The cardiovascular system has to adapt to running and if you do it more, it adapts faster. Keep the distances short until your body can handle running more often, then increase.
Increase your blood volume.Drink electrolytes before bed and hydrate appropriately every day. Getting more sodium on board and doing heat training such as sauna or hot tub can work to your advantage by increasing your blood volume. This decreases the cardiac strain needed to do the same things more efficiently.
Do you have questions? If so, feel free to reach out to us or reply to this email!
Happy running,
Dylan
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