Couch25K, What to do when heart rate too high?

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jennifleurb
jennifleurb Posts: 97
in Fitness and Exercise
Hi there,

Prompted by a conversation between myself and one of my buddies on here, I thought I'd post here in the forum. I've been very much enjoying Couch25K but have been stuck on week 6, day 2 for quite some time. This is due to not being able to face day 3 which is 5 mins and then 25 mins straight of running. My buddy asked what my time was etc and it prompted me to look on the internet of what my heart rate should be while exercising. I was surprised to find that my heart rate has been quite a bit above what it should be when exercising at a rate between 169/170. I read that it actually should be at a high of 153 (85% of my highest rate of 179).

The speed I go on the treadmill is 4.2 mph with an incline of 1.0 on the treadmill. I've put it at 1.0 incline as I read that an incline of zero is like running downhill outside. I am wondering what I should do. I've been so proud to be able to run at 4.2 as I started at 3.5 - but clearly my heart rate is not agreeing? There was actually one time where my right arm started to hurt while running and I slowed down immediately. Now that I know my rate was very close to my max at 179 I guess my body was trying to tell me something!

What would you do??

Replies

  • tajour
    tajour Posts: 134 Member
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    SLOW DOWN.

    It's not a race. And you might find that the dreaded day 3 of Week 6 is doable at a slower pace, which is a good thing to find out since intervals are gone from Week 7 on.

    You're working for endurance right now. Speed will come later.
  • astrampe
    astrampe Posts: 2,169 Member
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    I would not take the "prescribed" heart rate too seriously...If you don't have any heart issues and are healthy, listen to your body, don't look at your HRM...
    I run a lot, and according to my HRM, my hr sometimes goes up to 184 - My "maksimum" hr is suppose to be 182...
    Listen to your body - if you get seriously out of breath and your legs feel like lead, slow down your pace or walk for 30 seconds or so - that brings it down a lot...
    Not sure where you get 153 - that is really low for me - when I do a medium run (5km) my average hr is around 164...Which means it gets much higher when running uphill/faster.....

    Oh, and do slow down?...I make a better time on a ten km run if I do it in 10/1 intervals than trying to run as long as I can without stopping - because the 1 min walking interval brings my hr right down to where I can comfortably put in more effort and speed for the next ten minutes.....
  • jennifleurb
    jennifleurb Posts: 97
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    SLOW DOWN.

    It's not a race. And you might find that the dreaded day 3 of Week 6 is doable at a slower pace, which is a good thing to find out since intervals are gone from Week 7 on.

    You're working for endurance right now. Speed will come later.

    Yes, I think this will have to be done - maybe down to 4.0 and see if that brings it down some. It only inches up to 169/70 towards the end of the first 10 mins of running.
  • jennifleurb
    jennifleurb Posts: 97
    Options
    I would not take the "prescribed" heart rate too seriously...If you don't have any heart issues and are healthy, listen to your body, don't look at your HRM...
    I run a lot, and according to my HRM, my hr sometimes goes up to 184 - My "maksimum" hr is suppose to be 182...
    Listen to your body - if you get seriously out of breath and your legs feel like lead, slow down your pace or walk for 30 seconds or so - that brings it down a lot...
    Not sure where you get 153 - that is really low for me - when I do a medium run (5km) my average hr is around 164...Which means it gets much higher when running uphill/faster.....

    Oh, and do slow down?...I make a better time on a ten km run if I do it in 10/1 intervals than trying to run as long as I can without stopping - because the 1 min walking interval brings my hr right down to where I can comfortably put in more effort and speed for the next ten minutes.....

    I did a calculation as found on the internet - first is to take 220 minus your age and multiply by 85%. For me, at age 39, that comes out to 153. Another calculator I found tells me to go for an even lower rate between 108 - 126! http://exercise.bizcalcs.com/Calculator.asp?Calc=Target-Heart-Rate
  • CnocNaCu
    CnocNaCu Posts: 536 Member
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    I second that you should run according to how you're feeling. I started running 8 months ago at the age of 52 after 37 years of smoking and my HR went up like mad with C25K. I did it slowly and gently and whenever I felt unwell- usually when my HR went over 152- then I would walk.
    After a few months my HR was lower and lower even when running 1 mile without stopping and running uphill. Build up your endurance slowly and with patience and respect for your body. Your HR will definitely come down.
    These days my training is according to the Jeff Galloway method : 2.30 running, 1 min walking and I am faster than ever before. Once a week I run 5K without walking and my HR is always below 144 :bigsmile: It is so much better for my system. But every person is different. It works for me.
    You should definitely allow your body to adjust slowly.
    Good luck to you and hats off for starting to run:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:
  • jennifleurb
    jennifleurb Posts: 97
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    I second that you should run according to how you're feeling. I started running 8 months ago at the age of 52 after 37 years of smoking and my HR went up like mad with C25K. I did it slowly and gently and whenever I felt unwell- usually when my HR went over 152- then I would walk.
    After a few months my HR was lower and lower even when running 1 mile without stopping and running uphill. Build up your endurance slowly and with patience and respect for your body. Your HR will definitely come down.
    These days my training is according to the Jeff Galloway method : 2.30 running, 1 min walking and I am faster than ever before. Once a week I run 5K without walking and my HR is always below 144 :bigsmile: It is so much better for my system. But every person is different. It works for me.
    You should definitely allow your body to adjust slowly.
    Good luck to you and hats off for starting to run:flowerforyou: :flowerforyou: :flowerforyou:

    Thanks on 2 accounts - for sharing the above and the friend request :)
  • madmickie
    madmickie Posts: 221 Member
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    ok - your max HR is the MAXIMUM your heart will beat. It wont go beyond it - you will pass out first!

    To find your max you need to do a test - unpleasant, as it is the level your heart reaches when under MAXIMUM stress. So rather than having all shapes and sizes of people running up hills until they black out there are various ways to estimate your max. But it's an estimate. It's a bit like saying the average height for a man is 6ft.

    So, unless you want to do the max heart test, and you should probably be supervised for this, you will have to stick to estimates. 220-age being the most common. And most people will be within 5% of that estimate. So it's not too bad.

    So yours will be around 180. I would expect you to get to 170 quite easily. But you will not be able to keep going at that level for long and it will rise rapidly until you have to stop. At your stage of training you should focus on staying slow and keeping HR to around 140/150. A good guide is that you should be able to talk comfortably. The fact that this creeps up to 170 shows your level of fitness. As you get fitter you will be able to run longer before you tire and the HR rises. The goal isnt to run faster but to be able to sustain a run for 5k.

    In other words - slow down!
  • jennifleurb
    jennifleurb Posts: 97
    Options
    ok - your max HR is the MAXIMUM your heart will beat. It wont go beyond it - you will pass out first!

    To find your max you need to do a test - unpleasant, as it is the level your heart reaches when under MAXIMUM stress. So rather than having all shapes and sizes of people running up hills until they black out there are various ways to estimate your max. But it's an estimate. It's a bit like saying the average height for a man is 6ft.

    So, unless you want to do the max heart test, and you should probably be supervised for this, you will have to stick to estimates. 220-age being the most common. And most people will be within 5% of that estimate. So it's not too bad.

    So yours will be around 180. I would expect you to get to 170 quite easily. But you will not be able to keep going at that level for long and it will rise rapidly until you have to stop. At your stage of training you should focus on staying slow and keeping HR to around 140/150. A good guide is that you should be able to talk comfortably. The fact that this creeps up to 170 shows your level of fitness. As you get fitter you will be able to run longer before you tire and the HR rises. The goal isnt to run faster but to be able to sustain a run for 5k.

    In other words - slow down!

    Thanks :) Well written and easy to understand. I will definitely slow down and keep it 150ish range.
  • renkatrun
    renkatrun Posts: 111 Member
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    I would not take the "prescribed" heart rate too seriously...If you don't have any heart issues and are healthy, listen to your body, don't look at your HRM...

    or have a personal trainer or doctor measure your true mhr. I did that and my 85% is higher than what is prescribed for a 10 year-old. It is just a safe guideline, but far from accurate.
  • shinjite
    shinjite Posts: 51
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    Week 6 took me 3 weeks to complete the first time I did C25K and I was only running at 3.5. My heartrate monitor was beeping like mad - so embarassing. I had to slow it down to 3.0 for a weeka nd then gradually work back up to 3.5.You don't have to do it in 9 weeks. The only person you are running with is yourself, If you are not enjoying it then slow down and go at a speed where you can successfully do it.
    Good Luck!
  • jennifleurb
    jennifleurb Posts: 97
    Options
    I would not take the "prescribed" heart rate too seriously...If you don't have any heart issues and are healthy, listen to your body, don't look at your HRM...

    or have a personal trainer or doctor measure your true mhr. I did that and my 85% is higher than what is prescribed for a 10 year-old. It is just a safe guideline, but far from accurate.

    I'll just go by the average for now and play it safe :) Thanks for your thoughts.
  • jennifleurb
    jennifleurb Posts: 97
    Options
    Week 6 took me 3 weeks to complete the first time I did C25K and I was only running at 3.5. My heartrate monitor was beeping like mad - so embarassing. I had to slow it down to 3.0 for a weeka nd then gradually work back up to 3.5.You don't have to do it in 9 weeks. The only person you are running with is yourself, If you are not enjoying it then slow down and go at a speed where you can successfully do it.
    Good Luck!

    Glad to hear it's not just me having a tough time with week 6. I think if I slow it down as suggested here, I'll get through it. I was enjoying a lot more before week 6, so must be the increased heart rate this week that's making it tough. Look forward to slowing down and seeing how it goes :)

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