Heart Rate during Marathon

In article said:

My average HR is worrying me a bit. I am 27 and started doing multi-sport in January. Last month I
participated in my first running: a 15K run.

For the 15K run my average HR was 187. It felt good. Pace was ideal and steady (HR also steady).
Pace even increased during the last 5K. Time was satisfying for me: 01:11

Congratulations, sounds like you ran a very well-judged race. I always feel great about races that I
finish strongly.

Quoted message said:

However, the fitness centre had me up on a Technogym bike a few months ago and told me that my AT
was 179 (so not scientifically tested). How come that I can run above my AT for 71 minutes and not
collapse?

AT is measured in oxygen uptake units, not in beats per minute.

Heart rate is not a terribly precise proxy for oxygen uptake, especially when you're racing. Your
observations are consistent with those of others who have worn heart rate monitors in racing -- your
heart rate will tend to get very close to max in a racing situation.

Quoted message said:

And now I come to my actual question: I am planning to run my first marathon in May 2004. Can I
run above my AT for 3+ hours and not collapse? What should my target HR be? 187 OK?

Setting a "target heart rate" would have destroyed your 15k performance had you done that. Your 15k
performance proves that in a racing situation, your own intuition is a more reliable measure of
intensity than a heart rate monitor. I think your best bet is to use predictions from your shorter
race performances (10k - half-marathon) pace yourself in the early stages of the race.

Cheers,
--
Donovan Rebbechi pegasus.rutgers.edu~elflordOpen ↗

Toon wrote in message <[email hidden]>...

Quoted message said:

My average HR is worrying me a bit. I am 27 and started doing multi-sport in January. Last month I
participated in my first running: a 15K run.

For the 15K run my average HR was 187. It felt good. Pace was ideal and steady (HR also steady).
Pace even increased during the last 5K. Time was satisfying for me: 01:11

However, the fitness centre had me up on a Technogym bike a few months ago and told me that my AT
was 179 (so not scientifically tested). How come that I can run above my AT for 71 minutes and not
collapse?

And now I come to my actual question: I am planning to run my first marathon in May 2004. Can I run
above my AT for 3+ hours and not collapse? What should my target HR be? 187 OK?

Cheers,

Toon

I've run a marathon in 3:56 and my average HR was 180. I've run half marathons with an average HR of
188. I was 44 at the time of those runs.

It doesn't sound like you have to worry about your HR at all.

-2k

Toon said:

My average HR is worrying me a bit. I am 27 and started doing multi-sport in January. Last month I
participated in my first running: a 15K run.

For the 15K run my average HR was 187. It felt good. Pace was ideal and steady (HR also steady).
Pace even increased during the last 5K. Time was satisfying for me: 01:11

However, the fitness centre had me up on a Technogym bike a few months ago and told me that my AT
was 179 (so not scientifically tested). How come that I can run above my AT for 71 minutes and not
collapse?

Because you have a different "AT" on the bike and on the run. My lactate / ventilatory
threshold, to use the terminology of Coe and Martin, is about 165 on the run and about 10+ BPM
lower on the bike. This is quite common. In a 10 mile time trial (bit under a half an hour), my
HR averages 165. In a 5k (bit under 19 minutes), my HR averages something over 175, perhaps 180
(my max is 186).

Quoted message said:

And now I come to my actual question: I am planning to run my first marathon in May 2004. Can I
run above my AT for 3+ hours and not collapse? What should my target HR be? 187 OK?

Don't judge your target pace by HR, judge it by pace as predicted by a shorter race (preferably
1/2M or 10k). But if you're going to use HR as a training guide, go figure out your RUNNING AT,
not your cycling AT. Treadmill tests are easy and can be done with a friend, and seem reasonably
accurate. But running a few 10ks will pretty much tell you the same information, and will serve as
a much better guide to your marathon pace and training intensities.

-Dave

--
work: dga - at - lcs.mit.edu me: angio - at - pobox.com MIT Laboratory for Computer Science
angio.netangio.netOpen ↗ (note that my reply-to address is vaguely despammed...) bulk emailers: I do
not accept unsolicited email. Do not mail me.

Dave Andersen said:

Toon said:

My average HR is worrying me a bit. I am 27 and started doing multi-sport in January. Last month
I participated in my first running: a 15K run.

For the 15K run my average HR was 187. It felt good. Pace was ideal and steady (HR also steady).
Pace even increased during the last 5K. Time was satisfying for me: 01:11

However, the fitness centre had me up on a Technogym bike a few months ago and told me that my AT
was 179 (so not scientifically tested). How come that I can run above my AT for 71 minutes and
not collapse?

Because you have a different "AT" on the bike and on the run. My lactate / ventilatory
threshold, to use the terminology of Coe and Martin, is about 165 on the run and about 10+ BPM
lower on the bike. This is quite common. In a 10 mile time trial (bit under a half an hour), my
HR averages 165. In a 5k (bit under 19 minutes), my HR averages something over 175, perhaps 180
(my max is 186).

Sorry, should have been more clear - in case it wasn't obvious, that's a 10 mile cycling time
trial, and a 5k running. 🙂 If I could run a 10 mile time trial in 29 minutes I'd be pretty
pleased with myself..

-Dave

--
work: dga - at - lcs.mit.edu me: angio - at - pobox.com MIT Laboratory for Computer Science
angio.netangio.netOpen ↗ (note that my reply-to address is vaguely despammed...) bulk emailers: I do
not accept unsolicited email. Do not mail me.