For the last year I have been trying to determine what my Aerobic threshold is. I have tried the following:
I have tried to notice the first depening of breath, which I found quite hard to pinpoint.
2)I have tried to use the Mark Allen formula of 180-age +/- 5 which for me works out at 146. When I run with this number, I not only have to walk up hills, but spend about 50% of the ‘run’ walking.
I have read the method on Mitch Golds site of a 25x2 min run which I am thinking of trying next.
Seeing as this number appears to be cruicial for long distance training/racing , I just wondered if anyone else has had difficulty and/or found a good method of determining this magical Aet figure.
The breathing thing doesn’t work at all for me - my first deepening takes place as soon as I start…
All you need is a feel for HR’s and some experience - you don’t need a perfect Aet. Race without looking and then review the data. Pay attention to breathing. I think breathing is more reliable for me than HR. My HR is all over the place - sometimes I’m running a nice aerobic pace with regular breathing and my HR = 130 and sometimes its 150 - a lot depends on recovery state/fatigue…
Anyway - what are your numbers for max? resting HR? sprints? oly’s? Half IM’s? 10K’s…what do you average on an easy run/ride…? HR on intervals…post all that data and we could probably get close (or at least as close as you need for practical purposes)
Lets say you know Aet HR - what will you do with it?
Go running with a talkative friend for 60 - 90 min. Don’t even look at your hr monitor, keep a comfortable enough pace so that talking (single sentances) is not too labored. At the end of the run, you should feel like you can go further. Stop, take a look at your hr monitor’s avg hr, and that’s your AeT… for that day, under those conditions, under your physical state. A better way to get AeT is to remember the way you felt throughout the run. That’s what AeT “feels” like, and is a much better measure than HR.
I haven’t got much recent race data but I have got the following:
My last IM was in 2002. My average HR was 156 bpm
Age: 35
Resting HR: 44
Max HR: 195
5 km race HR averages: mile1: 178 mile2: 189 mile3: 192
2hr 45min long run: average HR 155 bpm
I also recently did a test as follows: run as hard as possible for 30 min at a pace I can maitain for the entire 30 min. I took a lap split after 10 min. My average HR for the last 20 min was: 186 bpm. For the 20min my min Hr was 184 / Max 188.
I am looking to identify my Aet in order to make sure that I am maximising my aerobic system. I really like the idea of training according to feel, breathing rate, but it is nice to have a cross reference, and I do like analysing data.
Your stats are somewhat similar to mine: max 200 (seen it once in a 5K - I rarely break 190), resting in low 40’s. 36 y.o. 150 pounds. Though my racing HR’s tend to be about 10 points lower - 5K in low 180’s, long runs in high 140’s…IM average 145…
I’d say your Aet is about 150-155 (always guess a tad low). If you are like me, bike is a bit lower than run - so maybe bike 145-150, run 150-155.
I also love data and cross-referencing stuff - I’m guessing you want to follow a big volume, all below Aet training protocol???
Again I don’t think it matters as long as you are in the ballpark - Mark Allen really stressed to NEVER cross Aet in that phase but I think thats ridiculous…
I never have time to really max aerobic stuff - takes too long…good luck - have fun.