Heart rate worry

[gairym]

Evening,

I've just come back from a little run using my new Garmin 'Forerunner 310XT' and I'm a little concerned about some of the stats.

Below you can see the numbers from the run (well, more of an aggressive saunter):



What's getting me is that after a gentle 3 mile jog it would appear that I almost died!

Here's some info to help you in analysing this data:

- Cold and icy/snowy (and was snowing).
- I was tired after a hard few days of little sleep and lots of travelling.
- At altitude (1000m arrived back in Alps last night after a week in London).

At no point was I particularly out of breath (no panting or wheezing).

I didn't feel like it was particularly hard work.

Other factors:

- The resting heart rate used (52bpm) in this calculation was recorded after getting up but I was up and about for a bit before taking it and so, if anything, it's an estimate on the higher end of things.

- The max heart rate (179bpm) was calculated using an online calulator (said to the most accurate without doing it properly) and so is liable to be in the general region (220 - age = 172) but I can't imagine any of the variances that are likely would explain me seemingly suffering so much on this run.

So.....is that something somewhere is terribly wrong (with my calculations or with my kit) and does this just show that I'm in incredibly poor shape???

(and if so why can I run that far without feeling that it's much of an effort?)

Any all help, advice and explanations appreciated.

Cheers, Gairy.

[ScotRoutes]

That MHR figure is a load of tosh. A couple of years ago I was regularly getting to 190bpm on a strenuous road climb and I was over 50 then. Basically, either reset it to a more reasonable number based on your own experience or pay to have it professionally determined (if absolute accuracy is that important to you).

[slarge]

Running does cause higher heart rates for similar perceived effort than cycling. You are using more muscles and working harder supporting your whole body weight etc. Not sure what your normal range of heart rate is, but if it were me, I would not be remotely bothered by your heart rate range - the 160-170bpm range is normal. ( says me 47 year old with a max of around 188bpm.)

[jameso]

'no expert disclaimer'
Maybe the max is not accurate, too low, calculators could give you a rate that's 10-20 BPM out. You were at 'threshold' range for 80% of 33 mins, without feeling particularly out of breath - that says you were probably below your real threshold and matches with your real max HR being more than 179. The threshold range is shows is quite wide also, I understood threshold (LTHR) to be within a few beats of a certain level. For comparison my max is somewhere just over 190 and I can ride between 155-173 BPM without being really out of breath; I'd be breathing fairly hard at 173 if I held it though as that is around my threshold, or as close as I can tell from self-testing on a turbo.
Slarge is right about HR while running, Joe Friel's blog does mention that running and cycling max HRs and training levels are different, with reference to triathlon training. So

does this just show that I'm in incredibly poor shape???

no.

[ericrobo]

Hi Gairy

My tuppence worth:
It's no use using an online calculator to determine Max HR.
There is a method I used in the past... I can't remember the precise details but it is basically (to determine Max HR for on a bike):
Pick a good hill to ride up
Warm up before attempting it

Then give it what for up the hill - record the max HR you reached...

Have a rest, then warm up a bit

Then give it another what for - record the max HR

And... hopefully the second one will be your max

Regards

Eric

[jameso]

A 20MP / 30mins threshold test is said to be a more accurate and useful number to work from if you're going to self-test. It's a better test to repeat as you train and for endurance riding is worthy training in itself - I'm not sure if true max is a good thing to aim for too often? Or does the test above give you a 'bike max' that is different from 'actual max'?

[Dan_K]

I applied no science to finding my mhr. Just beasted myself on some local climbs and saw where my hr regularly topped out.
My Garmin hr monitor regularly blips and records hr of 280 and other ridiculous readings. I don't think they're that good tbh. I'd take it with a pinch of salt but if you're really concerned, visit the docs and get a checkup.

[gairym]

Cheers guys, I think it must be the max heart rate that's throwing things off.

During that run there's no way I almost hit my maximum and so I reckon I'll just hit some hills on the bike (plenty to choose from!) and see how high it goes (and maybe treat the max as a work in progress).

Think I've got a lot to learn about all this heart rate stuff!

[gairym]

So.....today I went to the gym (first time ever!) and did some running and managed 189bpm and so I think we can write-off the original figure.

Let's see how this affects things.

Thanks again for the input.

Gairy.

[durhambiker]

Do some hill reps whilst out running, and go at them as hard as you can to find your max HR for running