Many runners can tell you the time and distance of their last run. Just ask them, or check their most recent tweet. We religiously keep track of these stats, because it is an easy way to see improvement. It also motivates us to work harder. But how many of us consistently monitor our running heart rate?
Although we run for many reasons, I think it would be difficult to find someone who doesn’t include ‘health’ on their list. The American Heart Association (AHA) recommends exercising within certain heart rate thresholds in mind, in order to achieve proper cardiovascular health. So how do we calculate this?
I went to the doctor for a checkup the other day. Everything was going along smoothly. Then the nurse took my pulse. “That can’t be right,” she said to herself as she readjusted the finger monitor.