Dropping to about 2:40 after you were warm and sneaking past him once says the speed is still there. Optical wrist HR lags on 30 second sprints and the slow walk breaks pull zones down, so your feel was likely right. Do you have a chest strap you could use once just to compare? That pace at 44 is spicy.
Thank you. Makes sense regarding delay. That was my guess too. Body does not believe that could have been a Zone 3 run. Don't have a chest strap. Not important enough to me to buy one just now. Highest priority: get healthy and strong enough to do sessions like this regularly. Thanks for stopping by.
Your body is right to call that harder than Zone 3. For short sprints, RPE and your splits tell the story, while wrist HR lags and the long walks pull the average down. If you want cleaner zone data, try an easy jog between reps and wear the watch snug, but the real win is staying healthy and repeating the work. Keep stacking sessions when you feel fresh and your speed and durability will both rise.