---
date: 2026-07-18
type: run
tags: [run, morning, short-run, vo2max-pr]
---

# Run — 2026-07-18

**2.01 km in 12:20 — Short and clean. VO₂Max bumped to 42. No water = dry cough at the end.**

## Data

| Metric | Value |
|--------|-------|
| Distance | 2.01 km |
| Duration | **12:20** |
| Avg pace | 6'08" |
| Fastest pace | **5'03"** |
| Avg HR | 147 bpm |
| Max HR | 158 bpm |
| Cadence | 172 spm |
| Steps | 2,124 |

| Metric | Value |
|--------|-------|
| HR recovery (2min) | 18 bpm |
| VO₂Max | **42 ml/kg/min** 🆕 NEW PB |
| Training load | 17 (Low) |
| Recovery time | 6h |
| GCT | 284 ms (Good) · Min 256 ms |
| Balance | L 49.9% / R 50.1% |
| Vertical oscillation | 8.8 cm |
| Stride | 95 cm |
| Speed | 9.78 km/h |
| Route | Szabadság tér / Lipótváros (District V) |

**HR zone distribution:** Aerobic ~7 min · Fat-burning <1 min · Anaerobic <1 min · Extreme 0 min · Warm-up <1 min

## Sleep — Night before

**8h 33min** · 00:32→09:16 · REM: 13% · Deep: 31% · HRV: **116ms** · Resting HR: 52 · Score: 87/100

> Much better. A full 8.5 hours with HRV back at 116ms — solidly in the sober baseline range (110-135). Deep sleep 31% (2h 40min actual) is excellent. Light sleep still a touch high at 56% but that's minor. This is what recovery looks like. Night-and-day vs the Jul 15 5K prep (5h52m, HRV 93).

## How it felt

> Nothing fancy, nothing new. Didn't take water with me today. At the end I felt something fucking up my throat — dry coughing, was bad. After a while it eased, and went away completely after drinking some water.

## Comparison

| Metric | Jul 12 | Jul 13 | Jul 15 | **Jul 18** |
|--------|--------|--------|--------|------------|
| Distance | 1.98 km | 2.50 km | 5.02 km | **2.01 km** |
| Duration | 13:13 | 14:40 | 35:55 | **12:20** |
| Avg pace | 6'41" | 5'52" | 7'09" | **6'08"** |
| Fastest pace | 5'45" | **3'53"** 🏆 | 6'01" | **5'03"** ⚡ |
| Avg HR | 144 bpm | 154 bpm | 155 bpm | **147 bpm** |
| Max HR | 155 bpm | **178 bpm** | **178 bpm** | **158 bpm** |
| Cadence | 165 spm | **172 spm** | 156 spm | **172 spm** |
| VO₂Max | 41 | 41 | 41 | **42** 🆕 |

**Verdict:** This is what a properly-recovered short run looks like. 6'08" at 147 bpm avg with cadence back to 172 — clean, efficient, no drama. Compare to Jul 12 (beach hangover run): same distance, but 33s/km faster today at only +3 bpm HR. The VO₂Max bump to 42 is the real news — that's your third increase in 8 runs (39→40→41→42) and confirms the trend is real, not noise.

The dry cough is classic exercise-induced throat irritation — breathing hard through the mouth dries out the mucous membranes, especially without water. On short runs (<15 min) it's usually fine to skip water, but if you're pushing pace or it's warm, even a small sip before heading out can prevent it. The fact it resolved immediately after drinking confirms it was just dryness, not anything respiratory. 

## Connected

- [[Sleep/2026-07-18]]
- [[Runs/2026-07-15]]
- [[Runs/2026-07-13]]