OK. Without going into how fast (or slow) I am, lets just talk about my heartrate and perceived effort. The past two half-marathons I’ve run, I’ve been within a minute of my best from many years ago. My average heartrate is 164 and it peaks at about 172 (hills). I am comfortably stressed at that level. Any more effort will cause me to over do it and I’ll have to start walking.
I did 45 miles on the bike today followed with a 4 mile run. I was killing myself with heavy breathing, legs that wouldn’t get their stride going and a heartrate of 160.
What’s going on here? What can I do to achieve heartrate and perceived effort parity with my non-bike ride running.
Possibly pertinent information: Male, 49 years old, 175 lbs 5 ft 11" - usually podium finishes in sprint and Oly Tri’s, rarely in runs but in the top 5%, usually.
Could be several things. Lack of bike fitness when riding at higher speeds or lack of fatigue resistance to cycling. Lack of run miles, lack of run strength, nutrition, lack of transitions runs, could be a bad day, lack of sleep, hydration, etc. The point is it could be a number of things. best to sit down look at your training over the last 6-8 weeks and see where/if the problem could be.
Thanks DD. I’m certainly lacking somewhere. I think I’ve been pushing real hard the past few weeks. It’s time for a break, considering my next A race isn’t until September and then IMFL in November. I’m giving blood Monday, so perhaps best to take the week off. Still trying to get my post-bike run in the same ballpark as my stand-alone run - 5k 18:15, but after swim/bike 19:30 if I’m really feeling good. I think it should be closer.
What’s going on here? What can I do to achieve heartrate and perceived effort parity with my non-bike ride running
DD answered the first question.
Second: Ride more and become a stronger (not faster) runner. Run lots of rolling hill routes and trails. You have to be able to pick the stumps up after your bike (even a well paced bike).
"What’s going on here? What can I do to achieve heartrate and perceived effort parity with my non-bike ride running"
Ride a lot more. That’s what everyone says … That parity is tough to do: Especially after 45 miles! Only super strong cyclists can run fast off a good bike leg. Hot runners who don’t cycle enough have to take it easy on the bike if they want to get close to fast.
My oly run times are usually 39 minutes and I have a stand alone 10K PR of 36:30. I’m fine with that, I just want to drop a few minutes on the bike (1:06 or so is the norm on a flat course) … For my first half IM in a few weeks I am not ambitious. My half marathon PR is 1:21 but I will be happy with a 1:40 after 56 miles on the bike! Running 13 miles after a 3+ hour warmup won’t be easy.
I’m not sure whether I’m reading you accurately. If your tri 5k is 19:30 and your stand alone 5k is 18:15 I think your trouble running after a 40ish bike speaks to the need to work on bike fitness for future races and pace issues for anything in the near future.
Well, like many of you, I get in what I can with the time I have available. So rather than more, it’s gonna have to be smarter. Maybe my balance of training is off between swimming/riding/running. In the past year, my emphasis has been more on riding than running and it shows. Even though my running has suffered, I’m faster overall, much faster on the bike. (My swimming has improved, too, BTW).
But, really, what I’m asking is, regardless of how fast I’m going, when I just run, I feel good (PE) with a HR of 164. If I preceed the run with a good ride, I feel trashed at a HR of 160 (and, yes, I am going slower). I would think I’d be going slower, breathing harder and have a higher HR. I don’t understand the low HR.
Anyway, I appreciate the advice being given here. Much thanks.
I’d guess that it gets to, you guessed it, bike fitness…though as DD, said, there could be other factors as well.
I’d say the low HR is because your legs are too fatigued after the bike to push hard enough to get your HR up to normal levels, at least not without a significantly increased PE. In other words…bike fitness. Put in some time in pushing your bike fitness…
Adding run frequency could also help…running 6-7 times per week will help you get used to running on fatigued legs…keep run volume the same, but spread it out, with several bricks.