This Is What Running 100 Miles Did to My Body (HRV, Resting Heart Rate, etc.) and How I Quickly Recovered
I used a WHOOP to track my recovery after running for 18+ hours
After completing my first 100-mile race of the year at Pirin Ultra, an endeavor that profoundly affected my body, I decided to examine the impacts of a 100-mile run more closely during my next race. To do this, I planned to use my WHOOP, which I had been wearing for several months before the race.
For those who don’t know what a WHOOP is, it’s a wearable fitness and health tracker designed to monitor various physiological data. It tracks metrics like heart rate, skin temperature, and motion to analyze sleep, recovery, and daily exertion. The device uses this data to provide personalized insights and recommendations aimed at optimizing the user’s health, performance, and overall well-being.
The preparation
My training emphasized consistency, with nearly two runs daily, significant volume, and back-to-back long runs on weekends. My longest training run was a 60-kilometer local race through the dunes, which I won, boosting my confidence significantly.
The most challenging training weekend included back-to-back 40-kilometer workouts. Throughout this period…
