Originally Posted by
sarals
Wow, fabulous advice! Thank you!
My RHR, 45, has NOT changed. It sits right there, and has for a very long time.
I do keep a detailed workout log, over at Beginning Triathlete.com. Looking at it, I've seen my weight come up (about four pounds) and heart rate go down, and that's over a period of several months.
I tried a little experiment just after my original post this morning - I ran 5 miles, and pushed it, running at a race pace (9 minute miles - I'm not fast!). My heart rate sat in the mid 140's and once or twice (on hills) barely broke 150. I felt FINE, really good, in the zone, and all that.
I'm thinking I may be seeing a combination of 1) fatigue, needing a rest, and 2) a higher level of fitness.
I am riding the Tierra Bella metric this coming Saturday. After that I'll slow it down a bit. At the end of the month I am the "run" portion of a relay team at the Wildflower Triathlon, so I will keep running, but I will use the week after the the Tierra Bella to rest.
Thanks again, fellas!
If you have been doing a block of aerobic training, at some point you will no longer make gains. At that point you need to begin more anaerobic intervals to push to a higher peak. If you continued to ride/run in an aerobic capacity, your performance would/could actually drop. I would take a short break then proceed with lower volume higher intensity training. There is lots of info in the forums/web about how to do this.
Intervals aren't "race pace" either. They are way above race pace. They are hard and can be maintained for short periods only.