What do my HR and pace indicate? Help please.

[Marben]

Hi!

The last couple of months I´ve been tracking my HR when using the erg and the result is not fun. Below my latest:

3x20 min, 1 min rest (when I switch the HR meter off), pace = 2:06:3, spm = 20, Avg HR = 155
5K, pace = 1:50:9, spm = 26, Avg HR = 162
4x1K, 4 min rest, pace = 1:45:2, spm = 28, Avg HR = 157

Additional info is I did a 2K at 6:45:0 about 3 weeks ago. The 4x1K was kind of a fly and die but I suppose the 3x20 should not be that high HR? Does this mean I´m much less fit than i thought? My 5K is also pretty bad compared to my 2K I suppose?

I´m trying to find out what kind of workout I should focus on to get better at 2K.

Thanks in advance

/Marben

[lindsayh]

Hi! The last couple of months I´ve been tracking my HR when using the erg and the result is not fun. Below my latest:
3x20 min, 1 min rest (when I switch the HR meter off), pace = 2:06:3, spm = 20, Avg HR = 155
5K, pace = 1:50:9, spm = 26, Avg HR = 162
4x1K, 4 min rest, pace = 1:45:2, spm = 28, Avg HR = 157
Additional info is I did a 2K at 6:45:0 about 3 weeks ago. The 4x1K was kind of a fly and die but I suppose the 3x20 should not be that high HR? Does this mean I´m much less fit than i thought? My 5K is also pretty bad compared to my 2K I suppose? I´m trying to find out what kind of workout I should focus on to get better at 2K.
Thanks in advance /Marben

Hi Marben - IMO it is hard to tell based on the data. (age weight height etc) Av HR is not as useful as %MHR based on an all out test and heart rate reserve. My first impression is that it all looks pretty normal for a fit guy. You should be able to do say 2k+20" (say 2:02-05) pace on that long piece at cap of 80%HRR although there will be drift above that. What is the highest heart rate you have seen say on that 5k piece? The sort of workouts you seem to be doing are directed at improving 2k similar to what may happen on a Pete Plan, interactive plan or WP as have been described hereabouts.

[Marben]

Ahh, I always forget to give enough info...

Age: 38
Height: 194 cm
Weight: 83 kg
Max HR: about 185 (that´s at least the highest I seen and I really pushed to get it as high as possible)
Rest HR: 40

Thanks for the answer Lindsayh.

[JerekKruger]

Your heart rate, by itself, doesn't indicate much. Heart rate is highly individual so there's not much point comparing between people.

I'd say your numbers point towards you being weaker aerobically. Your 5k pace should probably be closer to 1:48 based on your 2k, and your 3x20min sessions are also slower than your 2k indicates they should be. I think you'd probably benefit a lot from focusing on building your aerobic base for a few months. Row longer (at least 30 minutes, preferably more) continuous rows at a pace that's faster than your 3x20min but isn't so fast that it's a battle to finish. You want to be breathing heavily and tired at the end, but not completely exhausted. You'll probably want to remove most (if not all) shorter faster work as recovering from both can be pretty tough. After a few months of this start adding in speed work again whilst cutting back on the length and intensity for a few weeks then do a 2k test. All things going well you should get a nice PB.

As a side note, long rows like this can be boring. This is to some extent unavoidable, but one method that makes the time go faster is playing around with rates. A simple workout that Henry suggested to me is 10k at rates 18/20/22/24/18 (each for 2k). If you're feeling up to it you could even look into Wolverine Plan level 4 workouts (see the Wolverine Plan thread floating around on this forum for more details).

[hjs]

Why do you give av. Hf? Its much more the max hf you see during a piece that matters.

The hf on the longer piece indeed looks high, if you want to cap that say at 70%, use your reserve. Max minus min.
Max 185 min (55?) reserve would be 130. 130 x.7 = 91
So your cap would be 55 plus 91 makes 146. You should not go above this. Not your average, but max should stay below.
Training in cool conditions helps. Longer work, even slower, in warm situations will be taxing and get your hf up.

For short term 2k, 2/3 hard sessions a week is the way to go, other sessions should be very calm. 6/8 weeks really going for 2k is max. In my view. You will peak and stall. So plan your peaking fase well.