Fedofsky Friday

Fedofsky Friday: Hard Bodies & Heart Rate Monitors

Every Friday, Elizabeth Fedofsky, a top age-group triathlete and national champ, drops in to answer your training questions and to brighten our day with her witty wisdom.

1) No matter how active I am and how much I train, I find that if I stop counting calories, the weight just piles on. Granted, when I stop counting calories, I probably eat more junk. Anyway, do hard-core, hard-bodied triathletes have to count calories? Or do they just burn so many calories and eat so cleanly that weight issues take care of themselves? — Stacy

If it were up to me, I’d live on cupcakes, peanut butter, and cookie dough. And then I’d wake up the next day completely unable to function from the sugar coma that settled into my body and brain. As athletes, our purpose is to eat for performance. And, as the saying goes, garbage in equals garbage out.

There’s something about eating right that just feels right, isn’t there? You feel better, you look better, you’re more energetic and productive. So what I’ve learned over time is that rather than counting calories or focusing on the junk that I cannot eat, I focus instead on what makes me feel good, energetic, and strong. If I keep that in mind, the weight and the counting calories takes care of themselves.

2) How important is it to monitor my heart rate during training? Or can I just run at a comfortable pace during my LSD runs and sprint like a mofo during my speed sessions? — Neil

A heart rate monitor is like a window into the inside of your body. It is one of the best ways to tell how your body is responding to the workouts and demands. I use and recommend a heart rate monitor for all bike and run workouts. It keeps it honest, and keeps it real. It remind us that recovery runs need to be easy to be recovery. And, it shows us when we need to work harder for hard runs. Heart rate monitors (see our review of the Polar S625X) are also very useful for monitoring how your body is adjusting to current training loads. Low heart rates and high heart rates mean something – and it’s best to learn what they mean and listen to what your body says.

Keep in mind that many variable affect heart rate – heat, stress, hydration, altitude. Also, a good understanding of heart rate zones, how to determine them and what they mean is a must. Use your heart rate monitor frequently, especially early in the season but after awhile if you hit a plateau or find yourself becoming slave to the heart rate monitor try
taking it off to mix things up.

If you have triathlon-related questions for Liz, or just want to know more about the ways she drives her husband nuts, fire ‘em off to us at questions@theoutdoorjourney.com. You can read more about Liz’s adventures on her blog at http://elizabethfedofsky.blogspot.com/