How valid is an elevated morning heart rate as an indicator of overtraining. Wouldn’t waking up to an alarm clock cause a slight stress response anyway which could elevate heart rate?
I wouldn’t consider hr a reliable indicator of recovery status all by itself. I have tracked my hr over long periods of time and was never able to see any clear pattern, though I would say that hr combined with some other factors such as sleep quality, willingness to train, actual increases or decreases in performance and percieved exertion would give a clearer picture of training state.
Classic Tudor Bompa stuff.