I'm not sure why this is starting now and didn't happen before. But I would think this is your body still getting warmed up. Your heart is fighting a lot of resistance and your blood is restricted in where it can go since most of the capillaries and vessels to your running muscles are constricted or closed off. Once they open up your heart doesn't have to work as hard.

Are you certain that this is an accurate reading? I get this on my HRM sometimes too, but it is just noise. I get high readings sometimes until I work up a sweat.

 
I usually don't get a HR spike at the beginning of rum, but often get a reverse peristaltic spike at the end of tequila.

My HR does the same thing. During my running warm-ups, my HR spikes up significantly over the first .25 miles or so. But it settles down equally quickly, so that by .5 miles, its just fine. Earlier in the season, the jump is more radical (as high as 160's) but by now its more reasonable (145 or so). I've never really given it much thought.

I've had the same problem on group runs... a ridiculous spike or two at the beginning of the run. I called Polar who said that my S210 shouldn't do that (no duh), and then I called my LBS guy. He said that the same thing happens to him with his HRM, and he suggested that I activate it earlier and give it a few minutes to settle down before I start running.

At first I thought I had heart eurythmea... I'm glad others have this happen to them, too!

I read the responses to the above and it made me think of my own heart rate readings. I faithfully use my monitor. My max heart rate (as tested on a bike last year) is approximately 210. If I jog as slow as I possibly can, my heart rate is 145. A steady pace is 165. Race pace is 180 and above. I know you cannot compare yourself to others in this regard, but my heart rate readings seem really high in comparison to what I have been reading here.

You are doing way better than this old dog. My max is probably somewhere around 195. It is hard to set a pace even in cool weather that keeps the HR below 145. I have made progress in the past year to get a decent pace with HR still in the low 150's. I go up into the mid 160's no problem if I let myself.

This happens quite often with my Polar S710. I suspect that the problem is related to a couple of different factors:

1) A poor connection between the surface of the chest strap and the skin of my body. I typically use plain ol' tap water, and I suspect that as I begin to sweat, the connection (i.e. conduction) improves and the ratings become more accurate.

2) My best guess as to how an HRM operates (speaking as an electrical engineer) is that it uses a "multiplier" to convert electrical impulses to heart rates. When we begin exercising, our heart rates are probably more irregular--though not necessarily higher--than once we're warmed up. These irregular beat patterns are harder for the HRM to synchronize with and to "predict," and when the HRM synchronizes improperly, the multiplier will give readings that are much higher than our actual heart rates.

3) This problem seems to be more pronounced when my batteries are low.

Hope this helps.

My heart rate spikes when I am at the beginning of the beer, not the rum.

WTS,

I've only been training with an HRM for about 2 years. When I first started, I could not jog at my slowest pace without going over 160 (too high for zone 2 training). I was very frustrated. After getting some advice from someone more experienced than me, I started walking whenever my HR went over 80% of my MHR (around 150), and I would continue to walk until it went to below 70%. That way, I could keep my HR in an aerobic zone for the duration of my workout. I had immediate improvement. I can't remember exactly how long it took, but inside of a month, I could at least do a slow jog and stay below 150. By staying in "zone 2" for a couple of months, I was ultimately able to consistently run at 140. Now I can add miles and speed much faster than ever before.

"I usually don't get a HR spike at the beginning of rum,"

Rum sure does it for me. Brings back great memories of the Caribbean with terrific scuba diving and tropical drinks on the beach. What a wonderful life.

Happens to me all the time especially if the run session is the first workout of the day or there has been a long break between workouts. Mine hits the 200 range for a few mins then it starts a slow decline. I was really worried about it and had to stop running to get the hrt down to 130's where it normally is for warm up. I am not sure why this happens, or even if its the hrt monitor playing up or my heart objecting.

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Simple Simon
Where's the Fried Chicken??