What does this result say about me?

[gcanyon]

I just completed a PB 5K, 19:34.7. This compares pretty well to my previous 20:27.9 on February 2nd. (hooray for me!)

I'm curious about my heart rate. Breaking it down to 1k intervals:

time heart rate
3:52.4 173
3:53.4 179
3:53.0 184
3:54.1 185
4:01.8 189 -- took a drink of water, hence the extra seconds

To me that looks like an excellent job of pacing myself, except for the lack of will to resist taking a drink with two minutes to go

The heart rate looks to me like I was mildly anaerobic throughout, and couldn't have maintained that pace for another 1000 meters, which I would think is pretty much the goal.

But what do the experts think?

[calonius]

Nice PB gcanyon! I am afraid the experts has not much to tell about your splits and HR if you don't give more facts about yourself. I complete usually my 5k PB races with max HR 150+ not because I am so good but just because I am that old.
Arno

[gcanyon]

Nice PB gcanyon! I am afraid the experts has not much to tell about your splits and HR if you don't give more facts about yourself. I complete usually my 5k PB races with max HR 150+ not because I am so good but just because I am that old.
Arno

Good point -- 42 years old, male, hwt (190 lbs.) I'm 6'4", and have been rowing since December (1.2 million meters).

With my heart at 150 bpm I would be at least a minute slower. Honestly I'm somewhat of a wimp on the rowing machine -- I could have pushed harder if I'd been willing to suffer a little more.

BTW -- my stroke rate was rock steady throughout -- 28 SPM for the first four splits, 27 for the last (perhaps because of the six second break to take a drink).

[michaelb]

An all out 5k can be a pretty good max HR test. But you can't stop for a drink at the end. I would think if you went all out all the way to the end, your max HR would be in the low to mid 190s. I find that my HR will go up a few beats in the final sprint of an all out race, and that at max HR, you start to feel like you are getting dizzy or losing full consciousness, and it doesn't sound like you were there yet.

You are right about being "anaerobic". I find that for any hard race like a 5k or 6k or 10k, I am at 85% of max HR or higher, the whole way.

Great row. Sub19 as a future goal will be a nice breakthrough.

[hjs]

time heart rate
3:52.4 173
3:53.4 179
3:53.0 184
3:54.1 185
4:01.8 189 -- took a drink of water, hence the extra seconds

To me that looks like an excellent job of pacing myself, except for the lack of will to resist taking a drink with two minutes to go

The heart rate looks to me like I was mildly anaerobic throughout, and couldn't have maintained that pace for another 1000 meters, which I would think is pretty much the goal.

But what do the experts think?

Good effort but not a max one. If you really go for it you reach a point where you are not able to drink.
Not that i say you should that. Your max hartrate will be higher. 195/200 i think.

[Francois]

I agree with hjs: good effort but not a max one!
Your HR are pretty much like mine for a 5 or 10 k. In the last 2 minutes of a time trial, there is no way I could drink because of the heavy breathing, plus when so close to the end, nothing short of a major earthquake, would stop me!

[LJWagner]

A very slow heart rate creep for 20 minutes. 220-42 = 178 90% plus predicted. Impressive.

Whether or not you were much anaerobic depends on your breathing. Long anaerobic doesn't work well, since you are in partial oxygen deprivation based on requirements of effort, and really sucking a lot of air and straining near the end.

If your breathing got a bit more labored each 1K, you were anaerobic. But it sounds like you could pick up another few seconds per 500m. Try to sneak up on a bit more lactic acid burn, and higher pace, then back off just enough that it goes away in a few strokes but lingers and wears off slowly. That will be your closer to your max pace.

Give yourself a nice warmup first, too, then a few minutes rest. If you've not been doing that, it will be easier the next time, and you'll know you can push to an even better performance.

[Heaviestuser]

I think your HR is too high for your age. There are graphics for that in every gym. But the majority of posters do no agree with me.
I would not trust myself with a HR of 180, never go beyond 155.
Your time says that you have an average condition for somone your age.

[mpukita]

I think your HR is too high for your age. There are graphics for that in every gym. But the majority of posters do no agree with me.

While max heart rate changes with age, everything I've read, and everything I've heard says it's also very much a genetic attribute. Some could be very high vs. the charts, some could be very low. There appears to be no "normal", although this sure seems like it's "high" vs. the calculators and charts.

I would not trust myself with a HR of 180, never go beyond 155.
Your time says that you have an average condition for somone your age.

Why no higher than 155? If I did this, I'd never get any new PBs. I regulary go to 160 to 163, and would go higher if not on BP medication. My doctor has never told me to watch my heart rate max when exercising.

Also, this row is 33rd percentile for age group for both light and heavy rowers this season. That's certainly better than "average" fitness for someone of Geoff's age, yes? Considering that most people do not exercise at all, he's 33rd percentile for those that exercise enough to be willing to post their times. I'd say at least top 10% of the entire population.

And, if Geoff has rowed 1.2M meters, he's certainly built a fitness base over a prolonged period, to avoid and perhaps protect against injury.

[mpukita]

Geoff:

Just curious. What's your resting HR?

-- Mark

[Ray79]

First of all well done on the PB

I think gcanyons HR looks like a fairly steady drift over the course of 5km. Just one question for gcanyon - Did you warm up before hand? If so what did you do and for how long? Also what was your HR when you started (if you know of course).

The way I would take it as if you feel you couldnt have gone any faster then it was a good effort and well deserved of a PB.

I have a resting HR of ~54, but on almost any all out effort for a PB (particularly a 2km or 30mins @ r20) i can spike it to over 200 at the end. Not a very comfortable experience I can tell you. But as said earlier everyone is an individual when it comes to HR.

[johnlvs2run]

My doctor has never told me to watch my heart rate max when exercising.

[Heaviestuser]

Hi,
Sorry, I think Mpukita is right. Gcanyon has set a more than average time on the 5 K.

[ragiarn]

While max heart rate changes with age, everything I've read, and everything I've heard says it's also very much a genetic attribute. Some could be very high vs. the charts, some could be very low. There appears to be no "normal", although this sure seems like it's "high" vs. the calculators and charts.

The formula for finding maximum heart rate based on age and gender should be used only as a rough estimate. While it is true that as we age our maximum HR decreases there is no science behind the often quoted formula of 220-age. Back in the 1950's ,when cardiologists began stress testing patients, they needed to come up with some guidelines to determine estimated maximum hrs for the purpose of testing older patients who might have heart disease. To my knowledge no study has ever been done to actually determine Maximum HRs for otherwise healthy individuals let alone healthy athletes.

The only way of finding your individual maximum HR is by pushing yourself to your maximum effort (at the end of a race). For most athletes it is very difficult to reach your maximum in training.

If an individual is middle aged and therefore at an age when heart disease could be of concern I would recommend a cardiac stress test especially if you are just getting into intensive training.

As for Gcanyon's effort I think you did a great job a perfectly pacing yourself. Too bad you stopped to get a drink. Your maximum HR is somewhere in the low to mid 190. Think if you were in competiteve environment you would have finished the last 1000 m without stopping for a drink and would have reached your maximum HR. Your AT is probably somewhere in the mid 180s.

I am 65 and my theortical maiximum HR is 155 yet when I am at the peak of my training I can push my HR to 163. In 2k competition Ihave recorded maximum HR of 168. My estimated AT is somewhere in the 154-157 range. And yes. I did have several stress tests done when I first began serious exercising in 20 years ago. I have been using HR monitor for training since 1985.


Ralph Giarnella MD
Southington Ct, USA

[tennstrike]

The formula for finding maximum heart rate based on age and gender should be used only as a rough estimate.
The only way of finding your individual maximum HR is by pushing yourself to your maximum effort (at the end of a race).

Doc:

I bought a heart monitor from Concept2 last September (over 2 million meters ago). I used it twice. I became concerned when it displayed just under 190 at the end of a very hard 1K, since 220 minus 56 is 164. My obvious (at least to me) concern was "is it bad to exceed your theoretical max heart rate?" What happens? Do you bust/burst something? So, I looked all around for the meaning of "max heart rate" to see if I should be concerned. When I could not find anything relating to "what happens when you exceed your theoretical max heart rate", I put my heart monitor away and continued to row, figuring that my body would tell me if something was seriously wrong.
So, I'm guessing that I could get my heart rate over 190 and may very well be doing so during the last 100 meters of any attempt at a distance PB. Is this "high" rate a good thing, a bad thing or something of indifference? My resting heart rate is around 65.

Jeff