I’m in the middle of week 11 of the base period getting ready for climbing Rainier in July. No real experience with this kind of training before, just a lot of hiking/backpacking.
I started hiking on the long Zone 1 days with some weight (~10% of BW) after mostly trail running before this. I have no problem keeping my HR in Zone 1 going uphill but the minute it’s flat or downhill it drops below my Z1. I’ve seen it mentioned in another post about HR dropping that running downhill has a ME effect, would there be the same effect at a hiking pace? There’s enough extra weight in the pack (and on my torso) that I don’t want to run since I doubt it would be good for my knees in the long run.
I’ve been trying to stick to the “it’s easier to overdo it than under do it” mentality so haven’t been too worried about it but I still catch myself wondering if I need to make up the time that I’m at a recovery HR instead of Z1 by extending the hike or other runs during the week. I know HR isn’t some absolute indication of effort but it’s hard to ignore it when you have that number staring you in the face. Is it OK to call those long Zone 1 workouts Recovery/Zone 1 as long as it feels like a good long workout by the end?
I attached a screenshot of my hike this morning just in case it’s helpful. Thanks!
