Ran 6 miles Sunday, first time with HRM.
Average pace was 7:50 on pretty flat roads. I would call this my normal lets go run pace. If this were a 10K race I would have liked to stay around 7:00-7:10 min/mile.
My heart rate for my run was ~180 the whole time. That seams really high. For what its worth I am 26.
If 6 miles is your long run then your fitness isn’t there. Not knowing anything else (ie, training regimen, history, heart rate parameters etc) 180 may not be unusual.
It will be interesting to see what others say but I seem to have a high heart rate as well. I did a 29 mile bike ride this weekend and for most of it my heart rate was in the 170’s with spikes into the mid 180’s on hills (riding anywhere from 17-24mph for the duration). My resting heart rate is in the 70’s which seems to be too high for my fitness level. I haven’t been able to run in awhile so I am not sure what my running heart rate might be (but prior to knee surgery I could run a 1:36 half w/out too much difficulty). When I see others posting what their perceived max heart rate is I being to wonder if I should be concerned.
Not surprised since you weren’t much slower than race pace.
You really need to slow that run down and enjoy it. The HR monitor is probably a good idea for you until you learn to run easy.
Target 150bpm for the 80+% of your mileage that’s ‘easy’.
My guess is that this will be somewhere around 8:30/mile. It will feel too easy based on your history, but trust me and run at that pace.
the run you just did is best termed a threshold run.
It does sound a bit high, but you don’t have enough data yet.
People have a lot of individual variability and you could simply be one of the people that go with a high heart rate. Before you worry about it too much, just collect data for a few weeks at different intensities of running, and THEN sit down and analyze it. (Make sure you know which run was which, obviously!) You can (and should) do one of the various threshold tests, but if you’re not already racing an appropriate distance to use as your test, I’d recommend just waiting a couple weeks even before doing that, just to see where things are and to see whether you think your threshold test is in the right ballpark.
I got a power meter this season for my bike and had to do the same thing…just collect some data for a few weeks, feeling what various outputs were like and collecting a bit of test data…but not the first day I had it!
Good luck with it. I’m sure you’ll find the HRM very useful.
William
This is a good point.
Have a look here (McMillan pace calculator, http://www.mcmillanrunning.com/mcmillanrunningcalculator.htm) to give you some ideas of pacing. It’s not gospel, but a pretty good guide. You should see HR correlations with the variation in pace he suggests.
Heart rate is different for everyone. Some people can’t get their rate above 170 and others can cruise at 170 all day. I wouldn’t be worried about the number being high. I am 28 and my max heart rate is 218. When doing my base mileage I try to keep it below 170. You will feel like you are crawling along, but it will pay off in the long run. When biking up hills or pushing it on the run it is not uncommon to see mine jump well into the 190s or even low 200s.
x2. Your 10k pace and long run pace should not be that close. For example my 10k pace would be around 6:45, but I run my long runs b/t 8:00 and 8:30. My HR would probably be ~170 for a 10k and most of my long runs are around 150.
To comment on your original question, it may be high, but its highly individual. You can’t compare it to other ppl. You want to compare it to yourself. If you normally run 7:50s @ 180 and then one day you run it at 190 something is different. Maybe you are not recovered, different time of day, maybe the temp is higher, etc.
-Tim
You may want to check your HRM.
180 BPM is awfully high and it sure wouldn’t feel like something you’d get on an ordinary run. Check the battery (if you can), check how you’ve put on the strap. Then see if you get a “normal” reading while just sitting around.
I once got an indicated HR of 240 one time from running under power lines!
You may want to check your HRM.
180 BPM is awfully high and it sure wouldn’t feel like something you’d get on an ordinary run. Check the battery (if you can), check how you’ve put on the strap. Then see if you get a “normal” reading while just sitting around.
I once got an indicated HR of 240 one time from running under power lines!
I have problems with my HRM sometimes too. I have one with my Garmin 405. Some things that always cause high readings:
-Running with a tech. fabric shirt. The fabric creates a charge on the HRM.
-Running with an mp3 player.
-Not wetting the contacts.
-and power lines.
I will check it, but I think the other comments sounds pretty correct. I THINK its an easy run, but I know I expect a certain time out of me and push it to much. Then after the run convince myself it was easier than it was.
I’ll check the HRM and do some runs around 150 bpm and see how it feels/pace.
Thanks
My experience has been that real malfunctions result in numbers that are completely unreasonable, the most common being that it pegs at 240 (the highest my HRM will register) and the second most common being not getting any reading at all. Semi-reasonable wrong readings (such as from not enough moisture, static, or a power line) should not last for the hour run you did.
x2. Your 10k pace and long run pace should not be that close. For example my 10k pace would be around 6:45, but I run my long runs b/t 8:00 and 8:30. My HR would probably be ~170 for a 10k and most of my long runs are around 150.
To comment on your original question, it may be high, but its highly individual. You can’t compare it to other ppl. You want to compare it to yourself. If you normally run 7:50s @ 180 and then one day you run it at 190 something is different. Maybe you are not recovered, different time of day, maybe the temp is higher, etc.
-Tim
x3.
Long runs shouldn’t be performed at less than ~1min slower than 10km pace. Easy runs ~2mins less than 10km pace.
But of course with heart rate a multitude of factors play a role.
Time of Day
Weather
Food eaten
Sleep/Recovery
Other Workouts
Too much time on Slowtwith
Etcetera
I’m 5’10, 200lbs and my racing HR (7:00 miles) is about 180 on a rolling course. I think a lot of people get geeked out about HR and try to set a generally applicable rule, when its impossible. So many factors influence HR and only you will know what is normal after several weeks of running with an HRM.
Make sure you’re hydrated, have a good level of electrolytes in your system, and rested before making any big judgements about one use of an HRM.
Bob
That’s a bit too high for a long training run (if 6 miles is long for you). Someone already recommended to drop your pace to 8:30, which sounds about right.
BUT, some people do have a very high heart rate no matter what on the run… I run my 1/2M pace at about 170 avg. (max of 198 at age 35), this is comfortable race pace for me. My 10k can easily avg. 190.
Ran 4 miles tonight.
Mile 1: Only looked at HR and tried to keep it at or below 160. This was very hard as it felt like I was walking. HR ave: 159, pace: 9:37 min/mi
Mile 2: Did this mile at what I consider running. Wouldn’t say it was easy, but definitely sustainable for a long time(at least 10 miles). HR ave: 178, pace: 7:48 min/mi
Mile 3: Tried to calm back down and run at HR less than 160. HR ave: 159, pace: 10:28 min/mi
Mile 4: Returned to “normal” running. HR ave: 181, pace: 7:38 min/mi
Not scientific, but more “data.” For my fitness level am I really suppose to be doing everyday normal runs at 10 min/mi even though it feels embarassing? Or is it more likely I have a high heart rate?
Resting is 50-53 bpm.
Dehydrated??
certaintly don’t feel dehydrated. Drink all day, pee lots. It was a cool comfortable temperature.
It may or may not have been “high”. How’s that for a definitive response?
Do a few more runs, see what the trend is.
Some folks (particularly younger ones) just have higher HR’s than others. It’s not bad, or good, it just is what it is.
Don’t sweat it just yet.
Based on your stated 10k race pace and other testimony I think you have a higher heart rate.
However, you still train too fast. Try 8:30/mile as your typical training pace.