Overview of HRV measurements from
@hrv4training and training characteristics for
@mathiastri in his preparations for IM South Africa. I use HRV measurements in combination with subjective data from the athlete, to ensure we hit the right training load and that the athlete is able to adapt from and to the training. The picture shows details of the HRV and gives a broad overview of the training focus leading into his 3rd place finish at the IM South Africa, which was one of his best races to date.
★★★
Generally, HRV was stable and trending upwards in january->february which is interpreted as a positive adaptation to the training load. The last phase in february (from the 17th), shows a trend towards a decline in HRV which can be interpreted as a positive sign during a taper, but can also be a sign of overreaching (Further details read further here: /
@altini_marco /heart-rate-variability-during-taper-f4891ed5b8ca).
★★★
Due to the trending decrease in HRV in combination with athlete feel and perception, we actually decreased total load and training volume during this period, and took more easy days to ensure we did not overdo it (you would rather underdo it a bit, than overdo it and risk non-functional overreaching/getting into the race in a fatigued state). Thus, the last period was focused on very specific longer sessions of race pace and then in-between primarily easier days. Last week before race week was therefore also "only" 18h of training and race week leading into the race on sunday was approx. 11h (including travel days).
★★★
The "missing" data in HRV from the 28th of february was a combination of Mathias forgetting to do the measurements and also the fact that we would not adjust the training in the last taper phase due to the measurements anyway. HRV can both increase or decrease during a taper and both can be a positive sign during taper, so it is not specifically useful in this short time frame.
