This is going to be a quickie. It’s too long for Twitter, and long enough for a blog post.

I’m just coming off of a 9 mile run at an average pace of 8:55/ mile. While that isn’t burning up the road by most serious runners estimation, I’m pretty happy with it. It was fast enough to get things moving, and at the same time, my heart rate is slowly coming down from what it was at that pace.

I ran most of the country music marathon at slightly slower pace. The difference is that I was taching my heart hard for most of that run, which undoubtably contributed to my poor finishing performance. It’s darn hard to digest nutrition when you have been at a heart rate of 170 for 3 hours. In fact, it’s pretty darn impossible.

The reason I’m writing is because of my monitoring of my heart, as well as my training. I use a variety of software to analyze every run I do. Polar pro trainer, First Beat Athlete and recently, Sports Track as well.

First Beat looks at the R+R data recorded by my HRM, and analyzes each heart beat, both in duration and frequency. It gives a pretty decent overview of how hard a particular workout was for you, and it learns from your previous training to understand what you are capable of. It then puts together a plan optimize your training results, based on what you are doing. In theory.

I’ve found I don’t pay much attention to it anymore. I look at the information, and glance at the training plan, but more often than not, I’ll downplay it’s rest recommendations. For example, after this week, which frankly from a mileage standpoint, isn’t that hard, Firstbeat is telling me that I need to rest for the next 4 days.

I don’t think so. I’ll rest tomorrow, but only because I’m planning to join another runner for a 16-17 mile long run on Saturday, on a marathon course ranked in the top ten of most difficult due to it’s “hills.”

Yeah, I’m thinking it’s pretty stupid too, but I’ll still end up doing it. I’m guessing Firstbeat REALLY won’t like that.

The thing is, looking back over the past year at my data, analyzing it with a training load program (plug in for SportsTrack) and it looks to me like I’m in a relatively light load/training cycle. Maybe medium. I’m still around 30-35 miles a week.

During the first 3 months of this year, I was consistently training when my training stress was -40 and higher. 0 is breaking even between fitness and fatigue, and you want to race when you have a strong positive number (meaning fitness is high, fatigue is low).

I’m averaging 3 to -11. This seems about right, although I question it slightly, based on my historical data. I guess I’d argue that I increased my fitness more effectively when I was training while fatigued (that which does not kill you makes you stronger!)

I’m sure others would argue I’m running on a razor edge between training and injury.

I honestly don’t know.

I’ve had some minor wiggles of pain in one knee, but it’s never been intense, and it has only ached when I’m NOT running. Once I’ve gotten a mile or two behind me, my knees feel fine. Heck, it’s only when I’m past 7 miles that I get any type of discomfort at all, and that’s my feet (because I’m running exclusively in Vibram Bikilas). They don’t “hurt”, but boy I know I’ve ran a distance when I do 13+.

I’m generally happy with my progress now, as I think I’ve increased my fitness to a point that I can run the full marathon distance, at sub 9 minute/mile pace, without destroying my body to the point that it rebels at me trying to feed it and run.

I know I’m due a rest/light period again (and we have a vacation planning for Destin, FL week after next.). I had sorta figured that I’d take it easy then, although I loved running on the beach and by the ocean at Fort Morgan earlier this summer.

Suggestions? How much rest should I be building into my schedule? I know at least one triathlete who trains multiple times a day, every day, rest is for the week. He’s done more than a couple of Ironman’s, however, and so you know automatically that he’s not quite right anyways.

How much rest do You need?