Heart Rate

summertime_girl

I never gave it too much thought when I'm running, but I bought a HRM recently to make sure I was working in the zone, which is supposed to be roughly 70-80% of max for endurance work. Since I wasn't out of breath, and I didn't feel like I was struggling most of the time, I was thinking I wasn't getting my heart rate high enough.

For my age, the calculators put me at 185 for a max heart rate. When I'm running, I've been wearing the HRM lately. My heart rate stays pinned in the upper 190s. I do not have high blood pressure, and it comes down very quickly when I stop working. But, for example, I ran a 10k on Saturday, and it was in the 190s the entire hour. Again, I don't feel winded, and when the race was over, I was back down within minutes.

My resting heart rate seems to hover between 65-72, which seems pretty normal. I do have a doctor appointment tomorrow, and I'm going to ask if I should be concerned that my heart rate goes so high.

But I also want to check with fellow runners to see if you have any tips for lowering heart rate while running, or just lowering it in general.

summertime_girl

Just went out and ran (walked?!) a 5k. My pace, keeping my hear rate under 160, was 14:11/mile. That's close to 5 minutes slower per mile than my typical 5k time.

CarsonRuns

Depends on what the goal of the run is. If you are racing, I'm not surprised it would be that high. If you are doing an easy run at a conversational pace and it was hitting 190, well then I would question just how conversational that pace really is.

summertime_girl

I saw the doctor today, and she was concerned. I have to go see a cardiologist. Ugh.

lauleipop

My max heart rate is 191, my resting heart rate is between 50 - 55bpm. I have never successfully gotten my heart rate up to the max. I got my heart rate up to 180 once running a race above 8,000 feet in 85-degree heat (being dehydrated also contributed). But at my current altitude (5,000 feet) and in normal running conditions, I just can't move fast/hard enough to hit my max.

That being said, if you're exceeding your max on a regular basis, yeah, see a Dr.

dsak

My max heart rate is suppose to be 174, and I've read I should be working out at 85% of that (which is 148). I have a very low resting heart rate (and have also seen a cardiologist). I rarely make it past 148 when running... even at 10 miles....

nermal6873

I saw the doctor today, and she was concerned. I have to go see a cardiologist. Ugh.

I hope your appointment with the cardiologist goes well. Keep us updated!

JonesJennings

I saw the doctor today, and she was concerned. I have to go see a cardiologist. Ugh.

Hope all goes well. If the HRM caused you to get something seen that needed seeing then it turned out to be a good purchase of epic proportion. Food for thought for those of us who have never bothered with one.

mandy_lynn

Hope your cardiologist appointment goes well!

I run a high HR when I run. When I first started, it would go over 200. Now it stays in the 170-180s on flat and goes into the 190s when I do hills or sprints. My dr was more concerned with whether or not it came back down quickly to recover, which it does. I just keep an eye on it and when it gets high, I walk. My resting HR is around 60bpm.