Heart Rate Variability (HRV): An Ultra Runner's Secret Weapon for Recovery and Performance

Recovery often becomes the forgotten pillar of ultra running performance, especially for those of us who occupy the back of the pack. After crossing the finish line of my latest 220-mile ultra adventure, I've been closely monitoring my Heart Rate Variability (HRV) to guide my recovery journey – and the insights have been too valuable not to share.

HRV measures the variation in time between each heartbeat and serves as a window into your autonomic nervous system, revealing the delicate balance between your "fight or flight" response and your "rest and digest" state. When your HRV dips low, your body is waving a red flag that you're under stress – whether from physical fatigue after a grueling race, mental pressure, inadequate sleep, or even an oncoming illness. Conversely, higher HRV readings suggest your body is recovered and ready for training stress.

What makes HRV particularly powerful for ultra runners is how it personalizes recovery. After my recent ultra, my HRV remained at rock bottom for two full weeks – a clear signal that despite my eagerness to return to training, my body needed more time. This metric has repeatedly saved me from the overtraining trap that so many endurance athletes fall into. Beyond simply tracking numbers, understanding HRV helps establish a deeper connection with your body's signals and promotes sustainable training practices that can extend your ultra running journey for years to come.

Want to improve your recovery and performance through HRV monitoring? Subscribe to Choose to Endure for more practical tips designed specifically for back-of-the-pack ultra runners. Share your own HRV experiences or recovery strategies – I'd love to hear how this tool is working for fellow endurance athletes on their ultra journeys.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hello and welcome again.
If this happens to be yourfirst time with us, thank you
very much for stopping by andgiving us a try.
You are listening to Choose toEndure, the show dedicated to
the back of the pack runners,where we share stories,
interviews, gear and trainingtips specific to the tail end

(00:20):
heroes of the Ultra universe.
My name's Richard Gleave.
I have been running Ultrassince 2017.
I have taken on and finishednumerous Ultra distances at this
point, all the way up through220 miles, and I am, unashamedly
, a member of the back of thepack, just like many of you.

(00:42):
Now, if you've been followingChoose to Endure on the socials,
you'll know that I recentlywrapped up a pretty significant
ultra distance event.
Since then, I have been inrecovery mode, gearing up for my
next race that happens to becoming up in about eight weeks

(01:04):
time Now.
A key part of my recoverystrategy has been tracking my
heart rate variability, or HRV,as a way to kind of gauge where
I'm at physically and ensure I'mon track for my next big
challenge.
So I figured this would be aperfect opportunity to share my

(01:26):
experiences with HRV, discusswhy it matters, explore exactly
what it is, why it fluctuates,the challenges and benefits of
monitoring it, the importance ofbalance, factors that can
potentially disrupt your HRV,and a few practical strategies
for managing and improving it,especially after those tough,

(01:48):
grueling ultras that we're outthere doing.
I think this could really helpyou, as it has done me, so stay
tuned.
We're about to jump right in,discover raw, inspiring stories
from runners who've been rightwhere you are.
This is the Choose to EndureUltra Running Podcast With your

(02:10):
host he's English, notAustralian Richard Gleave.
Right then, let's start withthe basics, shall we?
What exactly is heart ratevariability?
Well, hrv is really thevariation in time between each

(02:32):
of your heartbeats.
At a micro level.
This variability indicates aresponsive and adaptable
autonomic nervous system.
That's the system that managesthose involuntary bodily
functions like your heart rateand breathing things that you
don't have to think about.
It just happens.

(02:54):
Your autonomic nervous systemreally has two primary branches.
One of those is called thesympathetic, and that's known
colloquially as the fight orflight response.
You'll know that one If you'veever been in one of those
situations.
You get laser focused, youmaybe start to sweat a bit, your

(03:14):
heckles go up.
And then the other one iscalled the parasympathetic.
It's sort of the opposite therest and digest system, if you
will, where you're sitting in aquiet room, dark room, eyes
closed, kind of zen, much alongthose lines.
So when these systems arebalanced the fight or flight
versus the rest and digestthat's when you are at optimal

(03:38):
recovery and optimal performance.
So that's really what you'reshooting for.
You're shooting for balancebetween the two.
You don't want too muchparasympathetic, because then
you'll be too relaxed, and youdon't want too much flight or
fight, because you will be toostressed.
So you're looking to staysomewhere in the middle, when

(04:00):
your heart rate variability islow.
That's your body's way ofsignaling that you're under
stress.
That's the fight or flight.
There's a few reasons for this.
It could be physical fatiguefrom a tough race, which is
where I'm at right now, and myHRV is definitely still low.
I'm checking it on my Garminwatch.

(04:22):
It has an HRV monitoring moduleon there.
Your watch may have somethingsimilar.
Maybe you have another tool tomonitor this, but if you do and
your HRV is low, it could alsobe from mental stress from daily
life.
Another way that I have reallyutilized the HRV is illness.
I have noticed that when I amsick, my HRV and indeed my

(04:47):
resting heart rate all changeand so I can tell really quickly
if I am sick, because a quicklook at my HRV and all my
resting heart rate will show methat they're out of balance from
normal HRV can also indicate alack of proper recovery too.
On the other end of the scale,a high HRV, that's going to be

(05:09):
your rest and digest systemright.
So that typically indicatesthat your body is rested,
recovered and ready to take on alittle bit more stress
effectively.
That's going to reflect somegood fitness and resilience.
Like I said, you don't want toomuch rest and recovery, because
then you start to detrain.
But equally you don't want toomuch stress either, either

(05:31):
physical or mental or evenillness, because that's not
great for training, that's notefficient, not effective.
So, like I said, you'restriving for something somewhere
in the middle.
Keep the two kind of balanced.
So we talked about monitoringHRV.
It can be incredibly insightful, but there are a few things to

(05:51):
keep in mind too, Since HRVvaries significantly from one
person to another.
Comparing your HRV numbers ifyou're looking at them on a
phone or somewhere else toanother individual's numbers
isn't really helpful.
They can be quite different.
The numbers themselves youstill have the low, high and

(06:13):
balance in the middle.
But your low and high and yourbalance might look very
different from a numbersperspective to mine, for
instance.
Also, daily fluctuations cansometimes be a little confusing
and stressful if you overanalyzeevery little change.
So glance at this once a day,take a look, take a note.

(06:34):
But if you're analyzing everypiece of that, it can get
overwhelming pretty quickly.
But the benefits of monitoringit, generally speaking, far
outweigh those challenges.
Monitoring your HRV is going tohelp you gauge the intensity of
your training, making sure thatyou aren't overtraining,
because training because ideallyyou're sticking to the balance

(06:58):
when you're too low, you rest abit, when you're too high, you
can train a bit.
Bring that gauge up or downdepending on where you find
yourself, and try to make sureyou're staying in the green in
the middle can also provideearly warnings when your body is
fighting illness, like I talkedabout, or feeling excessively
stressed and in general, I thinkit sort of makes you aware of

(07:19):
your overall health, helping youstay tuned into your body's
signals.
I'm a big fan of listening toyour body.
I like data a lot.
I'm a data guy too, but I don'trely on just data.
It's a nice tool but it's notthe be-all and end all.
I've really learned over thepast couple of years to listen
to my body as well, and I dofind, actually, that it ties in

(07:43):
nicely to HRV.
When I have a low HRV afterruns and I go out and try to run
, it's really difficult.
A 10 miler feels like a 20miler, so there's definitely
some correlation there betweenwhat I'm seeing in the numbers
and how my body feels when I'mout running.
That sort of guides me andhelps me think yeah, actually
there's something to this.

(08:03):
I think the importance ofbalance is interesting as well.
Finding balance in your HRVmeans that your body is
effectively managing stress andrecovery efficiently.
If you are consistently havinglow HRV, that can lead to
chronic fatigue, lowerperformance and increased injury

(08:25):
risks, even a weakened immunesystem.
Achieving that balance that Iwas talking about really helps
ensure that you remain healthy,strong and prepared for your
next ultra adventure.
So there are several commonthings that can throw your HRV
out of whack.
I jotted down a few.

(08:46):
The first one I put down wasovertraining without enough
recovery.
That's a big one.
Poor sleep quality or chronicmental and emotional stress can
also negatively impact your HRVand additionally, poor nutrition
, inadequate hydration andhere's one that I've definitely

(09:09):
been guilty of and have seendirectly on my watch, seen
directly on my watch Excessivealcohol consumption those things
are also often culprits behindlower HRV readings.
So how can you manage andimprove your heart rate variance
numbers?

(09:29):
Well, it really involves takingdeliberate steps towards better
recovery.
So prioritize that qualitysleep.
No-transcript.
If you're not sure how to getthat, we have a wonderful
episode right here on Choose toEnjoy, which has been doing

(09:50):
really well all about sleep, andthat is Season 2, episode 8,
where we had guest Amanda Chocoon and she told us all about how
to master sleep for ultraperformance.
Go check that episode out.
If you're struggling with thesleep side of things.
That's going to really helpyour hrv.

(10:11):
But season two, episode eightmastering sleep for ultra
performance with sleep coach andauthor of a really cool book,
amanda choco.
Planning your structured restand active recovery days can
also help maintain balance.
Make sure you incorporatestress management techniques
such as meditation, yoga, deepbreathing exercises.

(10:34):
Those can significantly improveyour score as well.
Pay attention to your diet.
Proper nutrition, properhydration also play a big role,
and limiting that alcohol intakewill help your body bounce back
quicker.
Lastly, there are some othermethods out there, like cold
therapy or, you know, justgentle active recovery sessions.

(10:57):
Those can also be prettybeneficial in promoting balance
and speeding up your overallrecovery.
Now, after ultra enduranceevents, which is where I'm at
right now, it's completelynormal for HRV to dip pretty
dramatically.
Mine has been at the verybottom of the red, on the low

(11:19):
end, for probably two weeks now,but I'm starting to see that
it's coming back up slowly.
So for me it's probably goingto take three or four weeks for
it to get back into the green,into the balance, after an ultra
endurance event.
For you that might be different, but either way it's completely
normal for it to go low rightafter a big event.

(11:42):
Your body has just enduredextreme physical stress and you
know recovery doesn't happenovernight.
It may take you weeks beforeyour HRV returns to baseline,
which is what I'm dealing withright now.
But regular HRV monitoring willhelp you gauge when you're
genuinely ready to ramp up yourtraining again.

(12:03):
You can do gentle activitieslike walking, stretching, make
sure your nutrition is on point,make HRV is telling you you're
at after a big ultra.

(12:35):
You know, understanding andmonitoring HRV is something I've
learned to do over the years asit pertains to athletic
performance, I think it can be areally valuable tool in your
ultra running toolkit.
If that's new to you, or ifyou're not doing it today, I
would definitely suggestpotentially looking into that.
It's going to offer youinsights into your body's
response to racing, training,recovery status and just general

(13:00):
overall well-being.
By paying attention to HRV andimplementing strategies to
actively manage it, I think youcan enhance your performance,
reduce the risk of overtrainingand, more importantly, enjoy a
sustainable and healthy runningjourney.
For me, it's definitely notabout the miles we run, but how

(13:24):
we recover and how we preparefor the next miles ahead.
That are important, and that'swhy I like to monitor and keep
up with my HRV as part of awider strategy of training and
making sure I'm in for the longhaul, so to speak.
But definitely keep listeningto your body and prioritize

(13:45):
recovery.
Whether you're looking at HRVor not, those are great things
to do.
Of course, there's certainly aton more scientific and in-depth
information about HRV out thereon the interwebs.
If you're interested in thistopic, definitely feel free to
go explore it.
While you're out there browsing, don't forget to subscribe to

(14:07):
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That would mean the world to me.
Your support directly helpsgrow.
The podcast connects morerunners to this fantastic ultra
community we have out there andhelp share the information that

(14:28):
we're talking about.
You can find us on Instagramand Facebook at Choose to Endure
, or visit us anytime atchoosetoendurecom.
I would love to hear from you,whether it's to say hello,
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That way, we can get to it onair and share it with everybody

(14:51):
else too.
You can email me directly atthe very simple info at
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Nice and easy.
Interacting with listeners,just like you, is one of my
favorite parts of doing the show, so I look forward to hearing
from you.
Don't be shy about reaching out.
Anyway, that's my two cents.

(15:11):
I'm doing this just because I'mright there right now managing
HRV.
So until next time, make sureyou run long, run strong, keep a
check on your heart ratevariance and also, as ever, keep
choosing to endure.