Pine Belt Pacers Forum

Ok - you guys know that I am not a biker so I have a question. I also still need to learn more about heart rate training. Normally, I do not wear my Garmin when I bike because it's normally so casual that I do not need it. But today I thought I would pick up the pace just a little. This is a recovery day, so I didn't want to work real hard, but I was thinking that the hills and the biking would be good for my quads in helping to prep for the downhills at St. George. I will be doing downhill repeats, as well as up hill repeats, specifically for St. George, but I also thought the biking might help.

Not knowing much about biking I am wondering about my heart rate today. This was a hilly course, and I was riding a hybrid bike. I averaged 12.2 mph, my average heart rate was 122 which is zone 2 for me, max heart rate was 146 which is zone 3 for me. What I noticed while I was riding was that my legs slowed(burned) well before my heart rate increased very much. I was breathing fairly hard a couple of times, but my heart rate didn't go very high.

So I am wondering what this means. I know it means that my legs are weak, but other than that, for a recovery day (which is my main goal for today) shouldn't I have been in zone 3 consistently? How do I get my heart rate up, if my legs give out before getting my heart rate to zone 3? Or is it acceptable to be in zone 2 for a recovery day.

Any answers?

Ginny, It is VERY acceptable to stay in Zone 2 for the duration of a Recovery ride. It is a RECOVERY ride. A heart rate not responding to an increase in work load as you described is usally a sign of fatigue. It means it is time for an OFF day or two so your body can respond to the stresses of training and repair itself. Hope this helps.

Ginny,

What is your maximum heart rate? A rate of 122 on the bike sounds perfect to me for a recovery ride (and 146 sounds a little high). Many factors affect heart rate during exercise. A person’s maximum heart rate will differ from exercise to exercise. Running generally has a higher maximum heart rate than biking (by about 3-8 bpm). I believe this is due mainly to muscle mass involvement. Biking engages less muscle mass than running. Since biking has a lower max. rate, your training zones will be different.

In addition, there are many other factors, such as air temperature, humidity, exercise duration, dehydration, etc. that affect heart rate. And like Ben said, it was a recovery ride - I wouldn't worry about doing it too easy.

Terry

It has happened to me too! What it means is simply..... that we are now in the fourth floor!

Thanks for the responses. I really need to study up on heart rate training. If anyone has any good resources, books, websites, etc. , let me know.

Terry, my max heart rate while running, according to the Garmin is 181 for running(220 minus my age is 179). I also have been using the heart rate zones from the Garmin. Not real sure about my resting heart rate. I can't remember to check it before moving around in the am. The few times that I have remembered, it has been anywhere from 45-48.

If anyone knows, based on my data above, or below, please tell me what I should be running my tempos, long, and track workouts at. I have just started to monitor my heart rate, and so far I have really just been monitoring it for recovery days. For my jogging recovery days, I have been staying under 145, should it be lower than 145, if I am jogging for my recovery day?

This is what the Garmin has for my heart rate zones:
1. 91-109
2. 109-127
3.127-145
4.145-163
5.163-181

Always appreciate the help.

Ginny,

I'll check and see what information I have on target heart rate zones. I haven't used a heart rate monitor in several years. I bought one about a year after I started running, mainly to make sure I didn't run too hard on my easy days.

Later,
Terry

Try this site:
Just enter your age, resting heart rate, male or female then hit Calculate

http://www.runnersweb.com/running/hr_ca ... r_new.html

Thanks!

How do you get your heart rate up to level 3? by riding 17 miles in your bike tomorrow morning around 7:30am at Bonita Lakes Park in Meridian! That would be perfect..... for me!