Heart Rates. What a confusing thing they are
Right I've been worried about how high my heart rate (HR) goes when I'm running.
Now the question is should I be worried or is it just me. Let me explain.
According to t'internet your max HR can be worked out using the formula of 220bpm (beats per minute) minus your age.
For me this would equate to 189bpm given I am 31 years young.
Also about t'internet are estimations on what bpm your HR should be.
Using the following page. http://www.sarkproducts.com/targetzonecalculator.htm my HR zones should be as below.
Zone 1 (40-52%) - 108 - 124 bpm
which is described as healthy heart and could be apparently achieved by walking briskly
Zone 2 (52 - 64%) - 124 - 141 bpm
which is described as easy and could apparently be achieved by jogging
Zone 3 (64 - 76%) - 141 - 157 bpm
which is described as aerobic and could apparently be achieved by running
Zone 4 (76 - 88%) - 157 - 173 bpm
which is described as anaerobic threshold and could apparently be achieved by going hard
Zone 5 (88 - 100%) - 173 - 190 bpm
which is described as VO2 max and could apparently be achieved by going all out
Now using the above data when I go for my 10km runs I would expect my HR to be mostly be between 124 and 157 bpm which are the zones which cover "jogging" and "running". However if we compare my last three long runs of 10k using the data from my Garmin my HR's have been as follows.
17/02/13 - Distance 7.02 miles in 01:19:31, where my average HR was 161bpm and my maximum HR was 174bpm
10/02/13 - Distance 6.22 miles in 01:07:57, where my average HR was 155bpm and my maximum HR was 173bpm
02/02/13 - Distance 6.58 miles in 01:10:56, where my average HR was 163bpm and my maximum HR was 176bpm
As you can see the above puts me on the boundary between zones 3 and 4, which should mean I am being anaerobic. Now from my understanding anaerobic exercise should only be able to be maintained for a duration of about 2 minutes comfortably.
However I can maintain a "zone 4" HR for a period of longer than 2 minutes. I did maintain a "zone 4" HR for period of over 23 minutes today.
Thus the only conclusion I can make is that my zones are not as estimated by various sources on t'internet. I believe that my trigger HR between aerobic and anaerobic is 170bpm ish. I can carry on running for periods of 20+ minutes as long as my HR does not breach my 170bpm threshold. This makes estimating my other zones extremely difficult.
Joe Friel agrees on his blog (http://www.joefrielsblog.com/2011/03/high-heart-rate-questions.html) with my estimations above and his esteemed colleague John Post MD states in this blog post that
Now if I throw in the bike things become even more complicated. I have no idea what my zones on the bike are which means that training in zones when running or cycling is difficult for me. I just have to learn to listen to my body and what it tells me. I know when I need to walk to lower my HR. I'm even debating ditching the HR monitor strap and
Who knew when I took up this triathlon lark that I would get so confused and involved with training and HR zones.
Sorry for the boring post but this whole HR mumbo jumbo has been on my mind for a few months. Remember I am doing this for charity, if you feel like sponsoring me you can do by going to http://www.justgiving.com/triathlon4harry
Thanks for reading.
Michael
Now the question is should I be worried or is it just me. Let me explain.
According to t'internet your max HR can be worked out using the formula of 220bpm (beats per minute) minus your age.
For me this would equate to 189bpm given I am 31 years young.
Also about t'internet are estimations on what bpm your HR should be.
Using the following page. http://www.sarkproducts.com/targetzonecalculator.htm my HR zones should be as below.
Zone 1 (40-52%) - 108 - 124 bpm
which is described as healthy heart and could be apparently achieved by walking briskly
Zone 2 (52 - 64%) - 124 - 141 bpm
which is described as easy and could apparently be achieved by jogging
Zone 3 (64 - 76%) - 141 - 157 bpm
which is described as aerobic and could apparently be achieved by running
Zone 4 (76 - 88%) - 157 - 173 bpm
which is described as anaerobic threshold and could apparently be achieved by going hard
Zone 5 (88 - 100%) - 173 - 190 bpm
which is described as VO2 max and could apparently be achieved by going all out
Now using the above data when I go for my 10km runs I would expect my HR to be mostly be between 124 and 157 bpm which are the zones which cover "jogging" and "running". However if we compare my last three long runs of 10k using the data from my Garmin my HR's have been as follows.
17/02/13 - Distance 7.02 miles in 01:19:31, where my average HR was 161bpm and my maximum HR was 174bpm
10/02/13 - Distance 6.22 miles in 01:07:57, where my average HR was 155bpm and my maximum HR was 173bpm
02/02/13 - Distance 6.58 miles in 01:10:56, where my average HR was 163bpm and my maximum HR was 176bpm
As you can see the above puts me on the boundary between zones 3 and 4, which should mean I am being anaerobic. Now from my understanding anaerobic exercise should only be able to be maintained for a duration of about 2 minutes comfortably.
However I can maintain a "zone 4" HR for a period of longer than 2 minutes. I did maintain a "zone 4" HR for period of over 23 minutes today.
Thus the only conclusion I can make is that my zones are not as estimated by various sources on t'internet. I believe that my trigger HR between aerobic and anaerobic is 170bpm ish. I can carry on running for periods of 20+ minutes as long as my HR does not breach my 170bpm threshold. This makes estimating my other zones extremely difficult.
Joe Friel agrees on his blog (http://www.joefrielsblog.com/2011/03/high-heart-rate-questions.html) with my estimations above and his esteemed colleague John Post MD states in this blog post that
"1) No two of us are the same.
2) No two of us fit the exact same formula/parameters relating heart rate to training."
Now if I throw in the bike things become even more complicated. I have no idea what my zones on the bike are which means that training in zones when running or cycling is difficult for me. I just have to learn to listen to my body and what it tells me. I know when I need to walk to lower my HR. I'm even debating ditching the HR monitor strap and
Who knew when I took up this triathlon lark that I would get so confused and involved with training and HR zones.
Sorry for the boring post but this whole HR mumbo jumbo has been on my mind for a few months. Remember I am doing this for charity, if you feel like sponsoring me you can do by going to http://www.justgiving.com/triathlon4harry
Thanks for reading.
Michael
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