I am 53yrs old and have just bought a Heart Monitor, my resting HR is 38 and calculated that my Max.
HR is approx. 176.
I regularly train for 15 miles on a Sunday and average 1hr.50mins on a hilly road circuit.
The following HR results are from the 15 Mile run.
During the first half mile my heart rate was averaging 170, the pace was easy and I was comfortable
at breathing. The heart rate then slowed to about 160, although my pace did not change from the
first half mile, except for hills, when it went to a max of 176, but dropped back to 160 on the down
hill section.
The interesting bit is after approx 10 miles, when my energy levels were slowly depleting my heart
rate dropped to between 120 - 130 although my pace did not change. This heart rate remained
unchanged even when climbing hills.
It seemed that it was not pace or effort that was controlling my heart rate but my energy level.
My question is, what other factors effect your heart rate during running.