[Izzy]

I’m a 27 year old male with a 10+ year history of frequent ski touring during winter combined with cycling and mountain running during the summer; before that I swam and played water polo competetively. During winter in particular, it had not be unusual to have 3 or more 6-8+ hour days of ski touring per week. Given that, I expected to have a reasonable aerobic base, but given the prevalance of ADS, I am extra wary and don’t want to make assumptions.

I followed the protocol for the indoor AeT and found my AeT to be appx 157 BPM given at that rate given I could no longer sustain nose breathing with a moderately deep but consisent respiratory rate. I felt confident with the results. I set Z1 as <142, Z2 143 – 157, Z3 158+ with a plan to perform the AnT protocol soon.

Later that week, I went for a run after work and in the first 4 miles gained about 800 ft elevation with an average HR of 146 and speed of 6.5mph. I felt pretty sluggish and had a difficult time maintaining nose breathing at this rate. On the last 4 miles, average HR was 144, speed was 6.8 mph. I felt better and could sustain nose breathing.

My questions are these:
Is it possible that I overestimated my AeT or conducted the test poorly?
Is this fatigue simply accountable to a poor warm-up or the elevation gain in the first half of the run?
Or are there other factors which I am missing?

Thank you!

Topic

[Anonymous]

Anonymous on December 7, 2018 at 9:58 am #15176

Izzy:

Lots of factors could have contributed to this.

Start by reading this forum discussion to understand that AeT can be a moving target.

AeT Test for Zone 1 and 2 determine – what I am doing wrong

Then redo your test this way:
https://uphillathlete.com/heart-rate-drift/ This may give a more accurate measure.

How tired were you on this 4 mile run. Localized muscular fatigue will lower AeT HR?
It’s important to factor in your perception along with the HR data.

Your swimming training and ski touring history make you an unlikely candidate for ADS. So, don’t despair.

Scott

[Izzy]

Izzy on December 7, 2018 at 10:06 am #15181

Scott,

During the first 4 miles I felt sluggish but didn’t feel fatigue in my legs. Over the last 4 miles things felt much better, even though the metrics looked fairly similar.

I’ll plan to test HR Drift, finding some flat ground to keep things even.

Thanks Scott. I hugely appreciate the resources you, Steve, and company provide; it’s a wonderful resource.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous on December 8, 2018 at 5:52 pm #15206

Just keep in mind that we are not machines that always give the same output for the corresponding input. We are incredibly complex organisms with physical and mental factors that we do not fully comprehend impacting our perceptions and reactions to training. Some days are just “off” days. Other days you feel like you have wings.

Scott