I have some questions about running 10k & pacing relative to HR, both in a tri and in a stand-alone race. My questions are
At what stage is it best to pass LT HR? And is this different in a tri to road race?
Although HR will gradually rise, is there a steady-state HR level?
I know these questions depend on fitness, tapering, motivation, pacing but assume you are talking about a fit FOPer in his “A” race running even splits. And after a well-paced bike.
Also, the bike & swim will affect running HR, such that it may be higher at the start of a tri 10k compared to a standalone 10k. How should this be controlled? Hold back until it is steady or just f*cking run?
Maybe this question is very individual, in which I would be happy to hear about people’s own approaches to this sort of distance.
There are a few reasons why I ask this. Last season I seemed to be able to hit higher steady-state HRs than this season, although my times this season are ~5% faster. I know this fine as I am quicker, but running at the same HR as last season seems much harder in RPE terms. In some races this year I have waited til the 4-5k point before really starting to dig in and go for it, after getting comfortable from running on the bike - but would going hard straight after the bike be faster? What is the optimal race strategy? These are open-ended questions …
Recent 5 mile Tri run - HR range 153-165. Good run.
Since my bike HR will never be above 160ish getting off the OLY bike…I start my tri run at lower than LT. It looks like I build to about LT HR eventhough RPE is much higher.
FWIW - I try to run my first mile about 10 seconds slower than projected pace - the next 4 at pace - and then see what I have left. I run it like a 5 mile race and try to hang on…If you are not hurting by 5 miles…pick it up!
Only use the HR monitor to analyze results after your race. You should be hitting even splits in both an open 10K and a tri. If you slow down, then you went out too fast. If you speed up, then you started too slow.
You should be at threshold (technically MLSS, but often mistakenly called lactate threshold) for a 1 hour long race (10 miles??). In an open 10K, you’ll be just above that point from the beginning.
Triathlons can throw heart rates out of whack!! I don’t have a good answer for you regarding where your HR should be, other than not to worry about it. Your pace should be pretty close to your open half marathon pace. After shaking things loose in the first mile, you should more or less feel like you are in the last 5 miles of a half marathon (except a little less beat up on the feet and calves).
If you are faster, then you are fitter. Not being able to maintain heart rates that you could last year only means that your body has adapted to both training and age. Again, I wouldn’t worry about it. Remember, your heart rate is not the cause of performance, it is a response to stress.
For me, last year, my LT HR was (and still is) 170. I could run 5k at a steady-state of about 178, and 10k at about 174 (both in tris)
Now this year, with the same LT HR (MLSS, you know what I mean!) of 170, my RPE is very high at 172, such that my estimated average might be 172 for sprints and 170 for oly for the 5k and 10k, respectively.
Now, I am ~5% faster on the bike and the run this year, but still … ?
It’s interesting that you (Keyser_Soze) can’t push your HR up on the tri 10k - is that cos you are fatigued and your legs are limiting you or cos your RPE is already high?
In HR terms, I’m not going harder on the bike this year and am pacing myself well… so it’s not cos I’m killing myself on the bike and having no legs left for the run.
BarryP - splits would be nice but many courses aren’t marked, and many vary in terrain, so splits may not be informative. However, I do run a pretty well-paced race AFAIK: my 5k turnabout pt time is halfway give or take 10s. It’s just my HR isn’t up there like last year!
Regarding training, what effects might take place to cause this? My LT (MLSS) HRs on the bike and run are the same. I haven’t had my real max HRs tested but would guess at 183 on the bike and 188 on the run (from what I have actually seen).
And about stress - am I not stressing myself as much as I can? That’s what I’m really concerned about!!
i think you might over analyse your racing… it s a 10km, not complicated…dont look at your watch, leave it a home, take off at a strong pace and challenge youself and run very hard…you might realise you can run the all thing at 180 …
there isnt much pacing issu with such distance if you have done the training, you run as hard as your body will let you and force him to give you more in the last part of it… you need to learn to reconise when you hit your thresold zone just by feel and flirt with this line and play with it… user others around you to push you but not HR.
i think you might over analyse your racing… it s a 10km, not complicated…dont look at your watch, leave it a home, take off at a strong pace and challenge youself and run very hard…you might realise you can run the all thing at 180 …
there isnt much pacing issu with such distance if you have done the training, you run as hard as your body will let you and force him to give you more in the last part of it… you need to learn to reconise when you hit your thresold zone just by feel and flirt with this line and play with it… user others around you to push you but not HR.
It’s like this…lets say you buy a sports car and decide to make some improvements. You drop a new engine in it AND add a new fuel pump. Even though both got better, your engine can still only take in as much gas as the cylinders will hold, no matter how good your pump is.
Your heart doesn’t just decide to pump faster to push blood in the muscles. Instead, your brain tells your muscles to move. Depending on how many muscles, how fast, and how hard you want them to contract, they then “ask” the heart to send them blood. They won’t take on more blood than you can use.
So, in your case, your heart improved more than the rest of your body did.
Note: I’m not a exercise physiologist and am sure I got some of the specifics wrong, but the above should give you the gist of what is going on. One aspect that many triathletes misunderstand is that your heart rate is a response to exercise, it doesn’t cause it. If you have a strong heart, then it will beat slower when you exercise. In order to make it beat faster, your body will have to increase it’s demand for oxygen (through training) without increasing the strength of the heart…which is something you have little control over.
For more technically correct answers, I suggest you email Andrew Coggan.