Its been an interesting couple of days analyzing my training using my new Garmin watch .. I’ve never really taken a good look at my training and why I feel the way I do at certain times during a run.

The most interesting thing, and I don’t know if its normal or not, is that my heart rate jumps up very high in the first 1 to 2 miles .. we’re talking up to 218bpm, then it kind of regulates itself and I end up training most of the time in “zone 4”, which for me is between 150bpm and 165bpm (or something like that) … is that good? I don’t know. I have to do some more research on it I guess .. but what i’ve also noticed is that my heart rate slows down considerably towards the end of a longer run, like for example I ran 10 miles this morning and my heart rate was at its lowest right towards the end, but at the same time, I ran my fastest mile at that heart rate. I think this is all just information overload ..

Its also good to know that most of my courses are about right on as far as mileage goes (or within about a tenth of mile) compared to the GPS, which reassures the fact that I haven’t been undercutting myself on miles.. I know that online pedometers are only so good, but to actually see my course plotted out that I ran (including where I crossed streets) is pretty cool .. technology has come so far in just a few years.

Despite all the questions its brought up, I guess what really matters is that I like my new toy .. I’ve never been a gadget guy, but now its opened up all kinds of new questions about why I can’t seem to lose this weight. I lost about 4 pounds after the Ocean Drive marathon in late March, and haven’t really lost anything since. I’ve been eating well, training, cross-training .. and I just don’t know whats missing.