Still going?

It seems my training is having latent effects. I guess I should have expected this. When I began training in January I sprinted to the top of a steep hill to determine my maximum heart rate (HRmax). In February it was 191 bpm. April? 192. I checked again in June and it was still 191. In July it seemed a bit low so I raced up and down the same hill three times: 187, 187, 186. And now? I'm rested and recovered and raced up that same hill again: 201 bpm!! That is the highest HRmax I have ever recorded. My previous max was in my late 20s and it was 194, but that was 8 or 9 years ago and your max is supposed to decline with age. I didn't even think you could train your max to a higher rate. As a nice bonus, it seems my lactate threshold (LT) has followed suit and lately I have been able to push and hold my heart rate into the upper 170s. In total, my limits have all moved up by about 10 bpm this year. I can push harder and deeper into those uncomfortable places and it isn't nearly as painful as it was in the past. So there's that. But still no belt buckle. Damned.

-PW