HRM tales & going batty

Ever since I started to train more 'serious', I generally used 'perceived effort' to gauge a workout level. I didn't want to become one of 'those guys' who if their heart rate monitor broke down in a race, they'd go off the rails. I just didn't want to become too reliant on technology - I'd rather rely on myself first. As time went by, I succumbed and bought a Garmin GPS unit. A geeky toy that keeps track of pace, miles logged etc.. Even though I shunned alot of the gadgets available, the geek inside of me still thinks some of them are cool. I've had the Garmin for a couple of years and now I rarely use it. I just know how far and how fast I've run. Yes, it still has it uses, especially for long runs, lap times or tempo runs but it's by no means a necessity.

Which brings me to the HRM. Each year I learn a little more and vow to train more/better/smarter the following year. Enter the heart rate monitor. I figure if I'm going to set out and build a bigger/better aerobic engine, I should try to be smart about it. Perceived effort and knowing myself has taken me far, but I want to take it to another to the next level. So this week was my first week training with a HRM.
Two major things I noticed. 1) my perceived effort was pretty much spot on. That shoudn't have suprised me, but it did. Well, by spot on, I mean maybe 90% of the time. 2) Even minor hills can cause substantial HR spikes. Ok, this suprised me. Sure I should know this intuitively, but it suprise me on how fast my HR spikes and how small of a grade can actually cause it.

FYI, I'm using the maximum aerobic power calculation to determine my optimal heartrate. If it's good enough for Mark Allen and Gordo, it's certainly good enough for me. :) More on MAP can be read here. The vast majority of my workouts this year, will be solidly in the aerobic/fat burning zone. The HRM is great tool for making me have the discipline to slow down. Whenever heartrate is over 145 bpm, I back off, walk if necessary. I now understand why the HRM could be considered the most important gadget. I'm also looking forward to doing some testing to see at what heart rate I experience 'stomach shut down'. Yea, that sounds like a fun test, doesn't it?

Workout update: Mon: off Tues: run 12.5k Wed: run 11k Thur: run 12k /spin 1 hour Fri: run 10.5k

As I mentioned before, a good chunk of my runs is on the trails. Fairly often I'll see wildlife, which I always think is cool. Hehe, I always feel like nature is opening a window and letting me peek in every so often. I like that. Earlier this week, during a mid-day run, I saw a bat. Odd. I've rarely seen bats even at night, yet here was one fluttering around in the middle of the afternoon. Neat. Two days later, I get to see him again. Same spot and roughly the same time of day. I'm going batty...