I am recently back from serious surgery and I am coming back slowly… 5k/30min run, 30km/65min bike, 2000m/40min swims (my best sport)
My problem is that I have always had a increase in my HR quickly and it goes to 180-195bpm on a run in about 5-10min. I don’t feel like I am trying hard at all at this point. It just climbs fast and stays in that area. Once I stop it drops quickly to 135 in about 2-3 min and below 80 in about 4.
My BP is normal. My resting HR is around 50-55bpm.
I am right now a bit overweight by about 15 lbs but not bad off. I try to hydrate properly at all times. I don’t feel like my core is extremely hot on runs.
My bike and swim are the same thing but climb slightly slower. Maybe 10-15min.
I don’t think its anything like tachycardia or the like.
When I completed a HIM in about 6h15m 2 years ago, my HR also climbed high quickly and I had no trouble (except cramping in my hammies)
You didn’t say what your surgery was or your age, but I’ll tell you about my experience coming back from ascending aorta replacement (serious surgery) 3 months ago.
I am 49. Prior to surgery, I was running about 27 for a 5K, 1:10 for 40K bike (road bike, no aero bars - my best sport), and 2 minutes / 100 yards (no kickoff, no flip turns, by far my weakest sport). I would get winded with a heart rate of 130. I didn’t realize at the time, but this was with severe regurgitation that had been limiting my performance for the last 3 - 5 years (according to cardiac surgeon) before I took up the sport. So, I have never known anything except severe aortic regurgitation as a triathlete over the last year.
After I was cleared after my surgery, I couldn’t run a mile without walking 1/2 of it. When I did gut out a mile, my time was almost 13 minutes, just slightly faster than walking time and my heart rate hit 150+, which is close to 90% of my predicted MHR. On the bike, I was a little better, but couldn’t average much over 17mph.
Now, 4+ months later, my times are about pre-surgery but my exercise heart rates have dropped from immediate post-surgery to 130 - 140 for the same level of exertion.
In summary, after surgery my exercise heart rate went up 20+ points but has since eased down.
I think the easiest explanation is that you are in poor cardiovascular health at this point. Spend some time trying to keep the HR below those values and let the system adapt. Give that a few weeks and see if there is any response.
I tend to have a high heart rate too but I can swing down pretty low. It is not hard for me to sustain a 180-190 BPM for two hours. My max sustainable heart rate is 203. Beyond that I start to get tired, weak, and somewhat light headed. When I stop my activities, my heart rate drops like a rock in the ocean to around 90-100 within a minute or two. I live at higher altitude: 4600 feet. Some of the bigger climbs around my area get up to 9000 feet. Maybe that has something to do with it. My resting heart rate can get down to around 50 as well.
I feel relatively strong although I know that some people are stronger. Then again, I’m not a doctor either. I used to ride with a heart rate monitor but now I only use power readings from my Powertap.
I just read somewhere that the high HR after a lay-off is due to low blood volume. It said this is one of the first losses when training is stopped. It also said that it comes back fairly quickly. Be sensible getting back into it. Don’t go hard right away.
Your heart rate was high before and thus is still high, it’s just your body. You cannot judge your body off someone else’s, either less or more fit than yourself. I run in the high 180’s and am more fit than a good friend of mine, who during the same exercize (cycling up a given hill) runs in the low 160’s. It used to tick me off to no end. He and I have the same resting heart rate of around 55. I spoke to the owner of the local bike shop and he said in a TT his heart rate climbs over 200 BPM and he’s ridiculously fit! So, you may or may not have a problem, but just know everyone is different… If you feel dizzy, your body is telling you something - back off. But, if you can sustain a high BPM for an extended effort, go with it…
As a continuation of this question, I have the same issue, but want to expand the inquiry to ask whether, if I have a 200 bpm max, a 50 bpm resting, and my 9 min pace rate is >180, do I really need to keep the hr under 150 (75%) to get the aerobic base building benefit? I’ve been running for years, and did an olympic distance in Sep in 2:33. I’m training for the Nations marathon in March, and want to do a good low intensity base building period, but my hr, even at painfully slow paces, tends over the 75% of max rate. If the answer is that i need to keep it that slow, so be it, but I’d rather not if I didn’t have to. That slow a pace really takes its toll on the knees, vice a decent 8:45-9 pace. Insights?
If you detect an anomoly (something weird) about your heart rate during exercise post-op you already know what you should do: Don’t ask us know-it-alls on the forum for advice, go back to your health care professional and tell them.
It may be minor, it could be serious. Don’t take chances.
If after visiting your health care professional for a real diagnosis you simply find out you are out o shape you may have to ease back in very slowly with very low work loads. That’s OK. It may be boring and discuraging initially but it builds a deep fitness base. It will benefit you by preventing overtraining with too much intensity (and/or volume) too fast. It’s tedious but its worth it.
As a continuation of this question, I have the same issue, but want to expand the inquiry to ask whether, if I have a 200 bpm max, a 50 bpm resting, and my 9 min pace rate is >180, do I really need to keep the hr under 150 (75%) to get the aerobic base building benefit? I’ve been running for years, and did an olympic distance in Sep in 2:33. I’m training for the Nations marathon in March, and want to do a good low intensity base building period, but my hr, even at painfully slow paces, tends over the 75% of max rate. If the answer is that i need to keep it that slow, so be it, but I’d rather not if I didn’t have to. That slow a pace really takes its toll on the knees, vice a decent 8:45-9 pace. Insights?
How did you measure your MHR? The 220-age is notoriously suspect.
I did a test based on some info from a training site. I did a 10 minute warm up at 10 min/mile, then did 3 minutes at an all out sprint, went down to a slow jog for 2 minutes, then did another 3 minutes all out, with the heart rate monitor on. The peak was 200, on the nose. (31 yr/old male)
I suppose an alternative way to determine your base building pace would be a subjective measurement. From Gordo:
How do we determine AeT?
My preferred evaluation method is to apply subjective perception. Start training at an easy pace and slowly increase the intensity of exercise. AeT is determined by noting the heart rate where you feel the first deepening of your breath. This deepening is caused by the body increasing its demand for oxygen to metabolize an increase in blood lactate.
You would probably base build around AeT to AeT+5.
I think your max is higher than you think. A 3 minute sprint is not long, or hard enough to see it. Go find a nice long, steep grade, at least 10%. After warm up, start climbing it at a hard pace. After about 10 minutes, begin a final kick. It is a lot easier to do this on a treadmill with constant pace, and a gradual incline, but it can work outdoors. I bet you see at least 210+…Don’t worry about whatever the # ends up, lower or higher doesn’t matter, just getting a good close approx. is what you want. Then you 75% number will also go up, and I bet things will look a little more reasonable…
Since the surgery doesn’t seem to be a factor in your querry, I would suggest too that you do a proper check of your max hr. I also firmly believe that true base training is done below 75%. The idea of base is to create more capilaris and greater blood volume for delivery. I see triathletes pushing it all the time - chronic zone 3 - and not puching it enough when it counts. I’m generalizing of course, but overall this seems incredibly common. If you don’t do a proper base you’ll always suffer from a high hr which of course means more cardiac output which is more energy. Joe Friel does the best job in my opinion of laying out training zones and describing periodization plans.