Normal (2)

Most mornings when I wake up I conduct a little heart rate test to monitor my recovery and my response to training.  Many athlete take their morning heart rates and this is something I had done off and on for a while.  The idea is that it can give you a heads up about when you might be overdoing the training or beginning to catch a cold.  I perform an orthostatic test that is run through my Polar heart rate monitor.  I lay down for 3 minutes and then stand up for 3 minutes.  The test uses five data points including heart rate variability.  Heart rate variability is a measure of the variance in a single heart beat.  Heart rate is just the number of beats per minute.  My heart rate monitor uses the information gathered in the test and compares it to the baseline I have established through multiple tests and displays a score of 1 through 9.  This is the first year that I have used such a test but throughout the summer and fall I have found it to be extremely useful and accurate.

It doesn't take a fancy test for me to realize that something was a little off with me.  My resting, standing, and recovery while standing heart rates were all high.  My test results were consistently an 8 indicating 'sympathetic over training'.  I think part of the high numbers were a result of being at a higher altitude but they continued even when I returned combined with my race results I figured it was time to take some extended time off.

I recovered and rested for 3 full days.  This might not seem like much, but it was one of the largest breaks I have ever taken during the winter.  Resting and taking time off, especially when I feel healthy is challenging for me.  My reward has been finally seeing normal heart rate values and a test result of 2 (Normal)

Sam grabbing the skis for our ski.

Great to be on trails with complete coverage  Winter still exists

Although it is only 45 minutes away I skied at the South Summit trails on Loup Loup pass for the first time ever.  Over 50km of trails to explore up there and I am excited to come back and explore more.

Training is back on track and my mood has improved greatly.  Caitlin and I are training in Washington with Sam and Scott and getting ready for US Nationals.  My first race will be the 15km Freestyle on January 4th.