I've been running high for a little over a year now. I do feel that it affects my performance. I am generally content to too along slowly. I feel less willing (or unable) to get out of my comfort zone when high. Perhaps this is a manifestation of having a much higher heart rate and lower blood pressure. I'm 41 years old and I estimate my HR max at around 185 bpm, lactate threshold around 160-165. Before I regularly used MJ my heart rate on a routine easy run would average about 135-145. Now it's usually 150-160. I wonder about this.
Am I increasing the cardiovascular load of training by getting high, or are the normal recommendations for heart rate training no longer valid?
Is my lactate threshold (LT) higher while I'm high? Or am I getting more aerobic stimulus from less physical effort?
Blazed runner, running while high is an interesting topic. Unlike many on this thread , I hardly ever run high. If I do, it's usually only my slow recovery runs or slow long runs, but I never run high when doing high intensity runs such as tempo runs or any speedwork like intervals. I don't feel it would be unsafe, it's just for me high intensity training and weed don't mix well. On the other hand, vaping a few hours af.ter or the evening after higH intensity training does wonders for muscle and joint pain and has me sleeping like a baby at night. As far as heart rate is concerned, I don't use a heart rate monitor so I don't really know. But I do know weed especially sativas can increase heartrate, but that's usually only for like the first 10 minutes or so. Also BP is known to go up slightly above baseline initially then actually go down slightly below baseline. It's so subtle though, I don't think it would affect training. Bottom line, if vaping gives you motivation and increased performance go for it.
It's interesting, Trail Runner magazine just had an article on this exact subject in the current issue ... I think July issue. The article was (" Marijuana Performance Enhancer"?). I was surprised to learn many endurance runners actually use small quantities of weed as a performance booster and or for recovery.. Kinda like some athletes that use caffeine for that purpose. Anyway, they found that some runners liked it and affected their performance positively while others did not. As marijuana use becomes more mainstream I think we will see more people open up and talk about it.....
On another note, I just ran the San Diego Rock N Roll 1/2 marathon last Sunday. Ran a personal best!! Vaped some Bubba Kush the night before which helped me get rid of the prerace jitters, go to bed early and get some sleep before the event....
Btw Blazzedrunner, I have no idea what my Vo2 max is... In a race I just run like a motherfucker at a pace I think I can maintain for the distance.
Happy Trails all you Crazy Athlete Vaporists!!!!
).. Guys at my store and the guys at the coffee shop and I did our first "get weird Wednesday" ride last night.. Was a very nice treck through the city. Love riding while vaped.. The breeze in your face.. No words describe exactly how blissful that can be!!
