migraine started friday night and is just now starting to dissipate close to midday on sunday. not an auspicious first week for my 50-miler build.
update: or second week, obviously. woke up this morning without a headache for the first time since last friday. will go for a cautious run later, probably inside because it's hot today and that just seems like asking for trouble.
btw @joe, i watched a short from will o'connor where he talks about how easy it is for a run with hills on it to slip out of zone 2 when you're climbing, even if HR doesn't change. apparently, if you're aerobically fit enough, you can buffer the extra costs of running uphill for a little while (i guess longer and/or steeper the fitter you are) without it affecting HR. an argument in your favor against relying on HR as the primary metric. seems like you can kinda fudge a power-based workout with just the watch but to do it right you have to get a stryd pod. oh boy, more gear... 
i'll probably stick with HR as the main thing and use pace for intervals.
gotta be honest that read like bs and i went to watch and i still think that's bs. first of all, stryd/power meters for running stink. secondly, if you're buffering that stuff, then like so what it's probably not really creating extra fatigue? and third, like who cares if it's a "zone 2" run (love this interview for debunking the zone 2 hype:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6DhfMJH84E -- gist, in terms of adaptation, doesn't really matter that much what zone you're in, just aim for whatever combination let's you accumulate the most training).
way i think easy runs is that hr is great for setting an upper bound, b/c if you're below some arbitrary fairly low number (i use 70%, which probably puts me in zone 1 rather than 2 anyway), you're defo going easy enough. pace fine too but hr does a better job of keeping me honest (you can see how slow i go, when the same calculators i use for interval paces are saying i should be doing like 5:50 or whatever for easy runs), and i have to take my easy runs very easy so i can do 3 sessions a week.
and yeah, for intervals, i like pace as the like framework, and then hr as the progression metric, kind of like sticking with the same weight/reps and having more reps in reserve over time.
I read this article the other day:
https://modeltheruncom.wpcomstaging.com/2025/05/17/respiration-rate-1/ that left me feeling very intrigued by respiration rate as a metric. have been counting breaths during some sessions to try and build an internal sense of where various thresholds sit in relation to each other. might try out the step test this weekend on a treadmill if i feel like hiding from the sun for the saturday session.
Also, wishing you the best with the migraines!
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