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Have a Heart (monitor)
I've been running 12 to 20 hilly miles per week for several years with some gaps in training but no injuries. Today I wore a new heart rate monitor for the first time. At 38, I figure my target range is 120 to 145. I was shocked to learn that I was hitting 120 on my warm-up walk to the trailhead, and further dismayed to find that during most of the run I was in the 160- to175-range, hitting 190 on the steeper sections. Should I slow down because I'm much less fit than I thought? Or am I more fit than I thought? Or am I simply accustomed to anaerobic training?
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Dennis, San Rafael, California
Before I answer your questions, I need to clarify a few things about heart rate monitors and target HR ranges. HRMs are great tools -- they can give you an objective sense of how hard you're working and help you to associate the subjective feelings of various intensities with a HR range. HR ranges are determined using percentages of an actual or predicted maximum HR and resting HR. The biggest problem in determining accurate HR ranges is using the proper HR maximum value. Since most folks don't know how fast their heart can beat, they use the 220-minus-age formula (182 in your case), which is fine if you happen to be in the middle of the statistical bell curve, but can be frustratingly inaccurate if you're not average.
You can accurately determine your maximum HR in a lab while doing a VO2 max test (which is what I would recommend) or out on one of your hilly runs (which I would not recommend to anyone who is new to exercise).
If you opt for the hill test, find a hill that takes three to four minutes to climb. Warm-up for about 15 minutes, then run the first half of the hill at about 90 percent effort and the last half at 100 percent effort. Your HR at the top will give you a fairly accurate representation of your upper limit. To make this type of test accurate, you should be well rested and feel really strong during the warm-up -- if you're tired or unmotivated the results won't be on the mark.
You'll most likely be surprised to find that your maximum HR is higher than 182, which would mean that the ranges you determined for yourself are on the low end.
So should you slow down for some of your runs? Yes, but not because you're less fit than you thought. Exercising at a lower HR (120 to145) is a good way to build a strong aerobic base, and you can run longer at this pace. A longer run (25 to 50 percent longer than your typical run) once per week at an intensity of 60 to 70 percent of your maximum HR should become part of your routine.
Are you more fit than you thought? Yes, if you find that your maximum HR is below 200. This indicates you were able to complete most of your hilly run at above 80 percent of your maximum HR, which is considered a fairly high intensity. Still, you shouldn't get in the habit of doing all your runs at this intensity -- the longer, slower efforts will ensure that you have the foundation to support this higher intensity running.
And, yes, you're likely accustomed to anaerobic training -- probably high intensity training too, as most of your running has pushed you relatively close to you maximum HR.
If used to help you mix the intensities and duration of your runs, your new toy should quickly help you take some serious strides towards improving your fitness -- as well as give you the piece-of-mind assurance that you're just as healthy as you thought you were.
Have some fitness tips of your own to add? Bring 'em on in our Bodywork Forum.
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