Racing heart rate

RunRachelleRun

I've started the Fitzgerald 80/20. There is great information for training, but I can't seem to find information on how to run the actual race. I have a 5K next month and a half at the end of October.

I tend to get caught up with the crowd, start out too fast, and then the rest of the time I'm just trying to stay out of Zone 5. Is there a zone or heart rate in these lengths that I should be aiming for in the actual race? For example, should I try to keep my heart rate below lactate threshold during the majority of the race (LT 174, max 197)? It would be nice if I could use my Garmin to alert me as it does in training.

Those of you who train by heart rate, how do you use your hr monitor in races (length specific please)?

Thanks!

TavistockToad

My heart rate got up to about 130 before I even started my first half marathon because I was so nervous!

Sorry I can't help with your question, but I can't imagine it matters too much for the 5k, you're not out there long enough.

5512bf

On 5k's you should be close to 85%, to as high as 95% at the end, of your max if you're really racing them. On half marathons you should be at your steady state HR, which is roughly about 3-4 beats below your threshold. My threshold is about 170 bpm and my last HM my average HR was 166. I think there is a section in the book on finding that threshold number, because that is different for every runner.

dewd2

For 5K races I hardly pay attention to my HR. I start and end well over 90% of my max. It is short enough that it really doesn't matter.

For 10K races I try to keep my HR at or slightly below 90% for most of the race. By the end it is up to 93% or higher but my pace remains mostly constant (unless someone is chasing me and there's money involved ).

For longer races I try to keep the HR at 85% or lower.

RunRachelleRun

Ha, @TavistockToad sometimes my heart rate has been pretty high before I start too.

These answers are very helpful. I've had my lactate threshold tested and it was 174 (it may have changed since, but I think it's pretty close still). I can see I'm letting my hr get too high in races, which is likely why I struggle sometimes and end up walking more than I do in training. Thank you!

Vladimirnapkin

The heart rate thing varies a lot depending on fitness, hydration, excitement, fatigue, etc. I find HR data from a 5k to be most useful in the post-mortem. I find HR is more useful in half marathon or longer races.

I've had much better luck with sticking with a goal pace I've established in workouts. Amazingly, whatever pace I can do mile repeats at is pretty close to my 5k pace.

Letting the crowd go (and then chasing them down later) comes from experience and discipline. Running your own pace will earn you huge dividends.

RunRachelleRun

@Vladimirnapkin I was curious about whether a goal pace would be a better way to go in the 5K. I don't train at all by pace right now and just wasn't too sure what I should set. Thanks for the suggestion about the mile repeats.

Yes, I always tell myself not to start too fast . . . but I still always seem to. Thanks for the advice!

Vladimirnapkin

@RunRachelleRun My racing was revolutionized when I started controlling my starting pace. Good luck!

rightoncommander

I'm like a lot of others here - I'm a slave to my watch during training, and for longer races, but for the 5k I just go for it!

I also tend to measure my effort by my breathing pattern - it seems a fairly reliable measure of effort now that I am familiar with it, and very well-correlated with my heart rate. I rarely have any surprises when I review my heart rate after this sort of session or race. For instance, I changed up to 2 in, 2 out around mile 8 of my last half, and knew I was in trouble, as I was hoping to make that switch only in the last 5k. Sure enough, cramp struck in the last mile and added a couple of minutes to my final time.

As for starting pace, most of us have been there! Part of the problem is that tapering makes the right pace seem too easy. To be honest, I still make this mistake regularly, e.g. the half mentioned previously!

RunRachelleRun

@rightoncommander I don't pay any attention to my breathing pattern right now. That is something new for me to investigate!

Yes, my breathing starts to feel labored right around my LT, I think. I've been trying to pay more attention to how my effort feels when this happens and not be so reliant on my watch.

I love all this info and advice. Thank you!

STrooper

For a race as short as 5K or a little longer at 4 miles, I tend not to worry where the heart rate goes. You can run at or near your LTHR over the course of the 5K. Of course, if you go too far into Zone 5 early in the race, you'll eventually have to drop back because you'll consume whatever O2 reserve you have.

Checking back over my last two short races (a 5K and a 4-miler). I get up to my LTHR about one-third of the way through the distance and then pretty much stay there (my LTHR is ~176 bpm +/- 2 bpm). As I come to the finish, I can and usually do press into Zone 5.

Over the past couple of years, I have found that both the LTHR and the HR zones haven't changed very much. My 30-minute run max HR checks in at about 189-190 bpm. What has changed dramatically is the pace I can run in each zone above Zone 1. When I first starting out, a Zone 3 run was (161-168 bpm) was about 11:30/mile. Today, it's more like 8:30/mile. Of course the other way to notice the improvement is the resting HR. Mine has dropped from 60-65 bpm to a long-term, 30-day average of just under 47 bpm.

On longer races (10-mile, HM and FM), I am not a slave to the HR monitor. Rather, I do go on perceived effort (and that is something you should glean from the training) and pace from the 20% of Fitzgerald's plan. I've learned to think about running efficiency (how am I breathing, how are my feet contacting the ground, what is the turnover/stride rate) and energy management. Going out too fast can really cost you at the longer distances.

One other thing that may be more of a personal characteristic but it is pretty consistent from my race data. I try to be fully warmed up for all races but particularly for the shorter races because of the sudden stress put on the cardio and muscular system from going to a relatively fast pace over a short distance. That means my HR is about 90 bpm at race start. It quickly increases over the first couple of minutes to where I am just entering into Zone 4. But then, some 6-9 minutes into running, my heart rate drops almost like I'm changing gears. And when I say it drops, I mean it drops down into a high Zone 2 regime. Then it slowly climbs back up to a relatively stable level over the next few minutes (and slowly increasing level on shorter races). It doesn't matter whether I measure with a traditional chest strap type monitor or with a wrist-based one (I have both and can measure with both simultaneously). I used to think it was about the conductance through the skin for the chest strap, but I have used electrode gel to keep the dropouts to a minimum.

RunRachelleRun

Thanks so much @STrooper . Your specific information is really helpful. I have just returned from vacation and have to catch up at work, but look forward to reading it all more carefully tonight.

That's a great point about being warmed up. I am not sure how to go about doing that in a race situation. I usually just do whatever warm-up the race directors have organized.

My heart seems to settle into Zone 3 nicely when I do the Fitzgerald fast finish runs. I am thinking if I could get and hover there in my races, I would be happy. Thanks again!

STrooper

@RunRachelleRun ,

My warmup routine typically starts about 30-minute before race start. On larger races it can be a bit difficult because you have to get to your starting wave /group /corral. But it gradually progresses from a series of slow jogs to a series of 100m strides just before getting into the starting grid. Again, it is much more important in shorter races because you are probably going to be going pretty fast from the first.

One of the most productive runs from Fitzgerald was that fast finish run. By productive I mean two things: one is the sensation of running fast and how you feel when the muscles are already tired. After experiencing that in training, the sensation during race conditions is something that you can "recognize." The second is knowing that you can do it. In my two fastest marathons, the recognition of the sensations around being fast at the end of the race (last 3-6 miles) is "comforting" (I found myself noting "Oh, I know what this is and I can sustain this"). It is also a bit of ego boost as you cruise past those that are struggling in the last miles.

One other note: my last marathon on a hilly course had an average heart rate of 145 bpm which is the lowest average I've had. Again, I was just cruising along. I was mindful of not overdoing it on the hill climbs. More typically, my heart rate is 155-160 bpm over the course of a marathon. My average HR was 162 bpm in my last HM (8:57/mile pace).

RunRachelleRun

@STrooper . That is very helpful about your warm-up. I can probably do something similar at most races with planning.

Ha, yes, I am one of those who struggling and getting passed because I started out too fast.

My zone 3 heart rate (168-174) is a very similar pace to yours when you started. You made an enormous improvement - and that gives me hope! Thanks for sharing that your average hr for your half was the bottom of that zone. I can see that I need to pace myself better (and get that cruising along feeling) in the race situation.

You've been wonderfully informative. Thank you!