2. ...my hydration was off.
3. ...I might be coming down with a cold.
4. ...I really didn't feel like pushing hard.
During the course of your training cycle, you will inevitably have good days and bad days. Sometimes, you feel invincible on the bike and run and are shocked when you check your GPS because the pace couldn't possibly be correct. You even consider writing a sternly-worded letter to Garmin when you get back because you are certain that the satellites are playing games with you, and providing you with a false pace that is way too fast for your level of conditioning.
There are other days when you don't feel quite as invincible. You are certain that your Garmin is experiencing trouble calculating an accurate pace and consider another sternly-worded letter to Garmin telling them that once again the satellites may be slightly out of their orbit and that your pace is too low for your level of conditioning.
Whether you think your pace is too hard or too easy, there is a good chance that the Garmin unit is correct, and that your body's physiology might be off a tad. It's more plausible that the satellites are in their correct plane of orbit, and that YOU might be the variable in the equation.
On days like this, it's often interesting to figure out "why" this is happening, and what the causes might be.
I've been fortunate this season to be healthy and not to have had any colds. We started our training on November 1st, and I've only missed several workouts due to a slightly tweaked "this" or "that", and have been quite consistent.
Until this month.
If you've been outside of New York state this spring, it has been quite cool, rainy, and windy. Actually, that's understating things a bit. It has been downright crummy!
However, we (as a team) have gotten fed up with riding indoors and have moved our sessions outdoors on even the coldest and rainiest days. In fact, we did a 60 mile ride in 40 degree temperatures, rain and 40 mph winds (I just got the feeling back in my feet from this ride last week). All was going well, until the Bristol road race several weeks ago.
My CTL (chronic training load) was at a lifetime high just prior to Bristol and I was feeling fatigued but in very good form. The Bristol road race went well, but a freak thunderstorm dropped temperatures into the 40's and drenched us with heavy rain about 10 miles from the finish. The worst part was the 3 mile ride back to the parking area after the finish after cooling down. I actually had trouble riding the bike I was shivering so hard, and haven't felt quite right since that day.
I got to do a spirited ride with Danielle Ohlson (our swim coach at Nice Tri...more on that later!) for 83 miles yesterday. The plan was to ride out at Half Ironman(Zone 3) power and ride back at Ironman power (Zone 2). The truly cool thing was to confirm my suspicion that I really wasn't feeling well. My power ended up being in low Zone 2 and my heart rate was high Zone 3! Without being able to match up my power and heart rate data for this ride, it would have been just another "I didn't really feel that great today" kind of ride and not know WHY. Today I'm dealing with a nice dose of chest congestion, so it's clear that the reason why I was dealing with the decoupled power and heart rate is because I was fighting a chest cold.
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| Dan's Decoupled 80 Miler! |
1. Lack of sleep - This can really affect your heart rate during exercise and your perceived exertion. Make sure to get 8 hours of sleep each night or be prepared to deal with the consequences. The solution to this issue is never to add more training stress to the schedule, but often the athlete needs to be reminded to rest as hard as they train!
2. Improper hydration - If your hydration has been off, you will notice an ever-increasing heart rate relative to pace and/or power during exercise (or if you are maintaining a steady heart rate, you will notice that pace and power drop). The only way to deal with this is to increase hydration levels pre, during and post-exercise, and try to get your body back into balance. Excess heat and improper acclimation to increased temperatures can also cause your HR to drift upward, so that athlete needs to allow several weeks of working out in high temperatures to get used to its effect on the body. Once your HR starts to creep upward due to heat stress, it is very difficult to stop. Make sure you're well-hydrated, and be conservative with pace and power goals if it's warmer than usual.
4. I might be coming down with a cold - If you are well-rested, well-hydrated, and just don't feel your "usual self" during your workout, it could be that your body is fighting off a cold. Be cautious when returning to exercise after illness. Start out slowly to test the water before returning to your full volume and intensity levels.
5. I just didn't feel like pushing hard today - Sometimes we're just plain tired. Stress levels can alter our body's response to training stress, and sometimes it's nice to put the Garmin and power meter away and just go out and blow off some steam. Every day doesn't have to be a new PR (nor should it be), and a relaxing ride or run can be just the thing to clear our thoughts and make us feel refreshed.
After all, isn't that why we're doing this in the first place?
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