127.2 → 124.2 bpm
September 24 baseline: H1–20 versus H21–41, with broadly maintained distance, ascent and moving time. H42 is retained separately as an injury-affected route repeat.
A longitudinal N-of-1 field record documenting observed performance and physiological context across Walking, Rucking, Running, and Hiking.
Sessions are measured under real load, terrain, altitude, heat, cold, wind, and long-duration stress. Direct measurements remain separate from interpretation; source columns govern, and full-record patterns outrank individual session stories.
September 30 update: the master contains 108 sessions (26 walks, 19 rucks, 21 runs and 42 hikes). H42 adds a San Jacinto repeat, a 1.8 → 9.1 → 1.9 → 1.7 ppm acetone sequence, and two recovery nights after an ankle sprain. The September 24 research baseline and fixed 93-session anniversary audit remain dated reference objects. Running VO₂ max remains 45 → 46 → 48; Hiking retains its separate recorded value of 46. The hiking layer totals 455.90 miles, 172,836 feet gained and 14,247.4 recorded minutes. H41 omits a summit stop. H42 includes an injured descent; current figures describe recorded exposure.
September 24 baseline: H1–20 versus H21–41, with broadly maintained distance, ascent and moving time. H42 is retained separately as an injury-affected route repeat.
September 24 baseline: H1–20 versus H21–41. Garmin exercise load is a device estimate; median load reduces the influence of unusually high opening values.
| Earlier interpretation | Corrected record | Status |
|---|---|---|
| 29 of 32 hikes had negative drift; median −0.74% | 32 negative and 6 positive; median −1.0% | Superseded |
| Wheeler was the first positive-drift hike and revealed fatigue | Five positive-drift hikes preceded Wheeler; drift and pre-hike HRV correlated at r = +0.03 | Hypothesis withdrawn |
| Pre-to-post HRV change measured recovery cost and adaptation | Pre- and post-hike HRV correlated at r = +0.09; the delta correlated with its starting value at r = −0.738 | Metric retired |
| The Western Block revealed an Engine–Governor divergence | The founding HRV-delta comparisons were dominated by starting values and regression toward the post-hike mean | Dataset claim withdrawn |
Earlier session narratives remain part of the historical record, but the current one-year audit controls wherever those narratives conflict with corrected source columns.
Whole-route drift is a descriptive direction. H41 is affected by directional recording; H42 by the injured descent. Compare protocol and pace before using it to interpret adaptation.
All 41 hikes with paired measurements show breath acetone rising from start to finish, then falling by the next day. Medians are 2.2 → 7.1 → 2.0 ppm; the median rise is 5.3 ppm and median end/start ratio 3.65×. H29 has no paired measurements. All 35 available day-two readings are below the hike-end reading. These are repeated metabolic responses across the field record. Acetone supplies metabolic context for cellular-maintenance hypotheses; it does not assay autophagy.
Across 37 complete pre-hike / first-night / second-night episodes, median HRV is 37 → 30 → 41 ms, resting HR 58 → 61 → 58 bpm, wearable stress 17 → 24 → 16, and sleep score 73 → 59 → 71. HRV rises by night two in 33/37 episodes; sleep score rises in 18/37. H42 is included and flagged for injury. These trajectories preserve both recovery and variability; they do not establish a training-dose ceiling or diagnose tissue recovery.
Elbert, Manitou, Pikes, and Wheeler document 37.63 miles, 15,867 feet of gain, and 24.2 hours under compressed travel and altitude conditions. They do not establish a distinct recovery governor, physiological ceiling, or Wheeler fatigue marker.
| Effort | Field facts | Observed signal | Boundary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mount Elbert | 11.02 mi · 5,361 ft · 473 min · 14,497 ft | 127 bpm · −1.30% · 22 ppm | Highest recorded elevation and tied-high acetone; not a proven recoverable ceiling |
| Manitou Incline | 4.00 mi · 1,929 ft · 170 min · 8,567 ft | 131 bpm · −1.00% | Short, steep exposure; no standalone recovery conclusion |
| Pikes Peak | 14.04 mi · 5,581 ft · 502 min · 14,116 ft | 123 bpm · −1.40% · 20 ppm | Low surrounding HRV context; the retired delta does not prove recovery failure |
| Wheeler Peak | 8.57 mi · 2,996 ft · 307 min · 13,154 ft | 123 bpm · +1.20% · 7.3 ppm | One positive whole-route drift value; not a validated fatigue-reveal signal |
Route, duration, gain, pace, heart rate, exercise load, altitude, environment, metabolic context, symptoms, mechanics, and technical execution.
Sleep, HRV, resting heart rate, stress, soreness, fatigue, symptoms, and time. No single delta certifies adaptation or readiness.
The next relevant effort can support, refine, or contradict an interpretation while remaining observational rather than proof of one mechanism.
The CMS records below preserve individual measurements and historical interpretation. The current one-year audit controls wherever earlier wording conflicts with corrected source columns.