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Heart Rate & Racing

jonovision_man's picture
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started by jonovision_man on November 2, 2009

Let me preface this by saying I *just* bought a Garmin with a HRM a few months ago... before that I didn't monitor my heart rate, so I'm learning about this new data.

I did a 1/2 marathon this weekend. My goal was 5:00/km pace for a 1h45 finish.

My heart rate:
1-10km - 170's
10-15km - 180's
16-17km - 190's... knew I was in trouble... hoped to hang on...

... then crack! I was toast. Lurched to the finish for a 1:48:43 (and a new record high heart rate of 198 - yikes! 220 minus your age my butt!!!)

The entire time I was close to my 5:00/km pace, but the heart rate just climbed and climbed. That's the part I don't get... is that normal? I mean I can understand a variance of 5 bpm, but to climb 20bpm over a race when the pacing is steady...?

My garmin data for the gory details

jono

IthinkIcan's picture
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IthinkIcan posted 2 weeks ago.

Jono - I would guess its based on getting tired out (training?), conditions a nutrition.

One other thing to keep in mind is that they aren't always accurate. I have one w/ a chest strap, and occasionally it loses the connection. When that happens, it kicks out some crazy high numbers, like 198-212. When I first saw it I freaked, until I took my pulse by hand and found it to be much lower.

gshuldes's picture
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gshuldes posted 2 weeks ago.

Looks pretty normal to me. I get similar results if I am pushing close to my limits for a given distance ... Pretty steady heart rate early in the race and then a steady climb to the redline as fatigue sets in.

I disagree about the monitors not being accurate. I have found that both my Polar and Garmin are right on. The only exceptions are early on when you haven't generate enough sweat to get a consistent connection and (rarely) when you are near power lines you might see some erratic numbers.

IthinkIcan's picture
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IthinkIcan posted 2 weeks ago.

gshuldes wrote:
Looks pretty normal to me. I get similar results if I am pushing close to my limits for a given distance ... Pretty steady heart rate early in the race and then a steady climb to the redline as fatigue sets in.

I disagree about the monitors not being accurate. I have found that both my Polar and Garmin are right on. The only exceptions are early on when you haven't generate enough sweat to get a consistent connection and (rarely) when you are near power lines you might see some erratic numbers.


I should have written that differently. I guess I don't mean inaccurate, but rather that if the link between the strap and the watch (in my case) fades, it throws out funky numbers as a warning that you lost the connection. Didn't really mean to insinuate that they are inherently inaccurate. Sorry about that and thanks for catching me there gshuldes

KitKat's picture
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KitKat posted 2 weeks ago.

Electric energy (IE power lines and what not) can interfere with the HRM signal. It would justify a 220+ spike.

The other thing is the body does have to work hard when it is grown fatigued. You were at the end of your race pushing your limits. It's possible.

**Pain is weakness leaving the body**
*Smile, it does a body good*

jonovision_man's picture
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jonovision_man posted 2 weeks ago.

I'm pretty sure the HRM was accurate, it didn't spike up, just steadily rose. It's been accurate in the past when I've tested it against counting for a minute.

Someone told me it could have been dehydration? Something about blood volume... I definitely didn't drink enough, it was a cool day (just above freezing) and I perhaps foolishly ignored that aspect of the race.

jono

wirebook's picture
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wirebook posted 2 weeks ago.

A gradual climb in HR is pretty normal actually. Hydration/Nutrition/Environmentals and most importantly - fitness - all play a role in how fast your HR will rise for a given pace. Heck, I can even pop my HR up 3-6 bpm just by thinking about an upcoming race (mid-run).

That climb in HR seems a tad high, but I don't know what your pace looked like either over the course - so it also sounds completely normal.

The more you gather HR data, the more you'll be able to see how your doing mid-run (or bike).

For me, I'll see a very gradual climb in HR if I maintain pace, whereas if I maintain HR then I'll see a gradual decrease in pace. That's completely natural - otherwise we'd all be able to run forever at a given pace and never have to worry.

dkhartung's picture
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dkhartung posted 2 weeks ago.

This is very common. Google "heart rate drift" and you can read all about it. It's generally more gradual than what you seem to have experienced. I've been told that significant increases in HR post-warm up while maintaining consistent pace is usually an indication of either not being trained up enough for the distance or nutrition/hydration deficit.

jonovision_man's picture
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jonovision_man posted 2 weeks ago.

I should be trained up for the distance - I did IMC at the end of August! :) And I did a 25k trail race two weeks ago. The distance at that pace, that I can see... and quite likely dehydration.

Interesting stuff, thanks for the pointers. I seem to learn something every time I get out there.

jono

SBH's picture
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SBH posted 2 weeks ago.

You mentioned that you have not heart rate trained before and I think that could be your issue. I was in pretty good shape before I started HR training and was shocked when my coach had me stay between certain HR's during training (aerobic only). Essentially, I had to walk half the time to keep the HR in the zone required. I was beyond frustrated to go from running 8 minute easy miles to jogging/walking 10:30 miles. Relatively quickly, however, the times started dropping and I became much more efficient and times dropped dramatically while HR remained steady and low (aerobic). I just did a half marathon this weekend and was able to set a PR (1:35) with an avergae HR of 156. If you stick with the HR training and deal with the initial frustration (and it does really suck) you should see real improvement.

TryScott's picture
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TryScott posted 2 weeks ago.

From http://runningtimes.com/Article.aspx?ArticleID=6627

"5. Remember that your heart rate increases as you become dehydrated. This phenomenon, called cardiac drift, occurs because dehydration causes a drop in blood volume, which means less blood is pumped with each heartbeat. A study published in the Journal of Applied Physiology found that heart rate increases seven beats per minute for each 1% loss in body weight due to dehydration. Running for 50 minutes in 70 degree heat can result in a loss of 11/2 to 3 lbs. That’s a 1% to 2% weight loss for a 150-lb. runner, which would increase heart rate by about seven to 14 BPM. If this runner is planning a tempo run at a heart rate of 160 to 166 BPM, she should account for the fact that her pace will slow during the run, and allow her heart rate to increase to about 170 to 175 BPM by the end. Thanks to cardiac drift, your heart rate will generally be higher when you train indoors compared to outdoor training."