The hallmark-encouraged day of giving attention towards someone else is coming up this Friday, so let us take this time to instead direct things back to you, and more specifically, your heart rate.

Training by heart rate (e.g. 65-80% of max heart rate for easy runs, 80-88% for marathon tempo runs, 88-92% for 5k-10k pace intervals, etc) brings a certain sense of calm and stability to your decision making. You are using a fairly easy to measure biometric variable to guide you to the right intensity on any given day. Off you go, like a good student, simply following scientifically supported rules to lead you to success. But are you putting too much emphasis on one variable? Are there more considerations than heart rate?

The vast majority of elite runners lean more on pace and perceived effort to guide their training, and when heart rate is considered, it is normally to ensure they are not running their easy runs too hard. For any quality work, however, heart rate is thrown into a personal bucket full of other ‘data’, like pace, exertion, general energy, leg sensation (sore, springy, heavy, etc). Elites, and their coaches, then take ALL of these variables into consideration, compare it to past and very recent training, and then land on what makes the most sense for that day at that moment. From this holistic perspective the decisions might be something like:

‘Last week this pace felt challenging, but today my breathing seems easier and legs are moving great. Heart rate is the same, and when I go a bit faster it barely changes. I think I can bump things up a notch.”

‘My heart rate is low, but I feel exhausted and not ready to push. Maybe I will adjust to easy running only and see how tomorrow feels.’

‘My heart rate is up a bit, slightly more than what is suggested, but I feel great and in control. If anything else feels off I’ll pull back, but for now I am good.’

In other words, heart, mind and body all work together and will provide critical information for optimal decision making. Putting one of these over the other, however, might have you running too hard, or too easy.