[Sara]

Hi all,

I’m quite frustrated.

I’ve been training zone 2 since January 2-3 times a week for 1-1.5 hours and it was going very well. I started to see real improvements which were very motivating.

I trained mostly on the treadmill (high incline, low speed as I’m training for climbing approaches and alpinism/mountaineering) but as it got warmer I also trained outside.

Suddenly in the last two weeks every session my heart rate is very high, going above zone when my output is easier than before (i.e. slower speed, lower incline).

I’m wondering if anyone can help me figure out why. Reasons I think I can rule out include:

– I have not been sick to my knowledge.
– I have a couple of alcoholic drinks every week or two. Not to excess (I literally mean a couple like 1-2 drinks every 1-2 weeks) usually and not anything different than the last 4 months.
– Cycle: I’m a woman who menstruates. I first noticed this high heart rate at the end of my last period but now I’m hitting ovulation and the issue is the same.
– Medication: I’m on Vyvanse for ADHD but have taken it regularly since before December, so before I even started training zone 2. I’m also on an immunosuppressant medication for a chronic disease but have been taking this specific one for a year, different ones before that, so long before training.
– Sleep: Sometimes I sleep badly, but nothing recently.
– Diet: I wouldn’t say I’m ruling this out but I don’t see it. I eat pretty regularly. I’m vegetarian. Not all whole foods, but I cook at home most of the time. I have a sweet tooth (for milk chocolate) and french fries are my weakness. I’d say my diet is pretty medium but I don’t tend to overeat, if anything I undereat some days out of poor planning but I don’t see it as something that has changed recently.
Heat: It’s gotten warmer out but not hot yet so I don’t think temp is the issue. Besides, have trained inside and outside with same results

Has anyone experienced something similar? Or do you have ideas of uncommon or sneaky things that may be affecting HR?

An oddity: I’ve noticed when my HR is really high these last few weeks sometimes I can still breathe through my nose when I otherwise probably couldn’t have at that high BPM, and it doesn’t necessarily feel as though I’m working as hard as my HR would indicate.

Thank you so much! Any insight appreciated.

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