Wyld Hair On A Tangent Group -FULL (Page 5)

Ok, so I'll just go ahead and bow out of the HR "class" but it doesn't mean I'm not interested.  I've just always trained with RPE and it seems to work for me when I actually stick to a plan.  In fact, the only piece of electronics that I use is a cyclocomputer with distance, speed, time, and cadence.  I don't even wear a watch a when I run, I just sorta guesstimate how long it took me to run.  I don't even use the pool clock unless I'm doing a timed mile or something.  I count rest intervals on my fingers.

That being said, I'd like to watch others fiddle around with a HRM and see how it goes.  I'm planning on repeating two week cycles over and over and over, increasing intensity and duration as I go.  I have a feeling that adding a HRM to this would probably be extremely useful... once I actually acclimate myself to a structure.

Hi Rochelle,

I am definitely interested in following it and above all, which direction you will take given the amount of different concepts, opinions, discussions, etc. regarding the set up of training zones.

Currently I take my average heart rate for a 10 k run and using this heart rate, I have established my training zones using the table provided in most of the "Velo Gear" books (Training Bible, Perfect Distance, etc.).

LSD in zone 2, Tempe runs close to my Threshold, etc.

But I am trying NOT to be a slave of my HR monitor, but link the reading during a run to my RPE, as well. I think it is very important to get a good feel for your body.

Little anecdote: I was working in a sport store. So we had clients whose HR monitor was broken, or needed a new batteries, etc., and we had to sent it to the manufacturer. I swear there were people almost panicking: "Oh gosh, what shall I do without my watch???"    "Well sir, I would recommend you just go running!!!"  

I have sometimes the feeling that athletes are getting TOO dependent on all the gadgets.

Take care

YouYou

Well I finished the half mary and didn't get any frostbite.  I'll have a race report up when the official times get posted, but just off the clock I did around four minutes better than last year.  Pretty happy with how it went.  Almost froze my azz off when it was over, but I'm home and toasty warm now.

Good to have you back.  Sucks about possibly missing that marathon, but the way I always look at it is... It's just one race, but it may turn into more if I do something to make it worse. 

Mississippi Blues Half Marathon

Race Report has gone live! 

Oh yeah... ofcourse there was "no shirt" guy.  Turns out he was "no shirt and cut off jeans guy."  Apparently he's from Montana, so this must have been a mild summer day for him.

Shirtless guy caught the attention of the local paper.  When they asked why, he said, "I ran my first in cut offs and no shirt, so I decided to run them all that way."

For those trying to shed some pounds, I'm going to be keeping a pretty detailed nutrition long on my training blog that you can check out if you'd like.  I'm looking to go from 173 (where I was this morning) to around 155 for a race on June 5th.  I did the same race at that weight two years ago, and it was probably the best race I've ever done.  Of course, it wasn't just because of the reduced weight to lug around.  I was eating right and therefore fueling up well for my training workouts.  I was also sticking to an OLY plan here as religiously as I could.

The weight is only part of it, but in shooting for that goal, the good results gave me a boost in all the other areas of training and taking care of myself.  That's what I'm looking to do again.  I'll be posting what I eat for each meal, the fat/carb/protein mix of each, some recipes, and any other random stuff I think may help.  So, feel free to follow along, take some meal ideas, take some general concepts, etc.

Warning:  I'm no expert in nutrition in any way.  I'm just a dude looking to get healthier and increase my fitness levels.  Don't take what I'm doing as the gospel.

Don't worry about the swimming.  You certainly aren't the only triathlete who struggles with it.  Your doing exactly what I would recommend you do in signing up for a class or lessons.  You'll find that when your form and technique finally comes together (and it will if you just keep getting in water), it will all work itself out.  Don't worry about pace and speed right now.  Focus on getting comfortable in the water first, then get fast.

Hello Bill,

Congratulations!!! Running a Half at this temperature is tough!

How do you feel? Hope the recovery is going as expected.

Take care

YouYou

Hello Ted,

Just had a look at your Training Log. Looks as if you’re working out pretty regularly!!!

It took me two (!!!) hours yesterday to convince myself that it might be a good idea to go running. Did I enjoy the run? Well, not really, but I enjoy looking at my Training Log

Swimming is definitely a tough cookie. I agree with Andrew joining a club is the way to go if you don't feel too comfortable in the water.

Take care

YouYou

This week is about how do determine your running Heart Rate Zones. I am going to restrict my instructions to how to do the tests, which test you should choose to do and how do determine your zones this week.  I was going to include Bike Zones in this week to but, as I started to write it up, it became clear to me that it is too much for one thread post.  So you will see the Bike Heart Rate Zone Calculator in a separate post this week.  Next week, I will give definitions on what these numbers really mean.

There are an endless number of methods to determine HR zones.  All of them will achieve the end goal but some are more accurate than others.  As with most things in life, you will get what you put into it. To get the more accurate test results you have to put more work into it. If you have higher athletic performance goals then you will want to do the more accurate tests, this will allow you to train a little more precisely.  However the reality is that for the very large majority of people a simple Age Calculated Test is probably accurate enough to achieve a competitive result for any length event and a 20min stress test is accurate enough for the remaining higher level competitive athletes including most of the elite field.  The most accurate tests results are achieved with a Clinical V02 Tests, which will pinpoint all the HR zones and thresholds you could ever want to know.  My husband and I have both had one more than 15 years ago.   I think it would be fun to do it again but neither of us found enough of a training benefit to disrupt our training routine or spend the money to fine tune our training that much. The bottom line is that Heart Rate Training does not require high levels of accuracy to get impressive results. You will see proof in this, just by doing a Google search for HR Zone tests and Calculators… There are at least 50 different methods out there and they return a pretty large range of results.

For most people your heart rate Max and thresholds are different with different exercises that you do. This is mostly due to the number of muscle groups that an exercise uses and is also in part related to the stress level of the exercise.  For example running causes more impact than cycling, it requires more muscle groups.  So if you wish to be more precise in your training you would want to do HR tests for both exercises.  This post will only address running.  A later post this week will give you methods to determine your bike zones.

 OKAY…Lets get to it.

There are 3 steps to determining your heart rate zones.  1^st determine your resting heart rate, 2^nd determine either your Max heart rate or your Estimated V02, then finally calculate your zones. For this thread we are going to use the Max Heart Rate Method and to calculating the zones I am using the Karyonen Formula.

 1. Determine your Resting Heart Rate

In the morning or when you have a quiet moment. Don’t do this after you worked out, ate or showered.  It is also best that you don’t have a full bladder.  Using the average HR function on your HR Monitor hit lap or start every 30 seconds for 2 to 3 minutes while lying down. You are looking for the lowest average HR.  You can do this once or you can do it a couple of times during the week and then average your results.

 2. Determine your Max Heart Rate

LEAST ACCURATE: AGE CALCULATED MAX HEART RATE METHOD
This is the least accurate because you are estimating your maximum heart rate.  Still, it is accurate enough for most people.  This Max Heart Rate is estimated by a method described by Sally Edwards an author on Heart Rate Training. You will need to know your current weight for this test. In general this formula is fine for most people and is likely to be the most accurate formula within plus or minus 5-7 beats of the actual maximum heart rate.  

Men:
210 - 1/2 your age - 5% of your total body weight + 4 = Predicted Maximum Heart Rate

Ladies:
210 - 1/2 your age - 5% of your total body weight + 0 = Predicted Maximum Heart Rate

MORE ACCURATE: STRESS TEST FOR MAX HEART RATE

This is the one that I recommend to anyone looking for a bit of accuracy. This method produces low fatigue and then maxes out your heart rate with short increasing intervals. I like it because the actual test section is relatively short and continues to move forward quick enough that a person isn’t so daunted by a long hard max test.

1. This is going to take 20 minutes. There is a 15 minute warm up and a 5 minute effort test. If you have a new Heart Rate Monitor, this is a good way to learn how to use it. Program a workout in your watch so that it laps at 15 minutes, and then laps every minute for the next 5minute, then stops.
   
   Okay here is the test.
   Most people hit max heart rate between 185 -195 beats so I have set this test up with that number in mind.
   
   Run/warm up easy for 15 minutes, then without stopping go to the 5 minute test.
   Minute 1: raise your heart rate to about 145 keep it there
   Minute 2: raise your heart rate to about 155 keep it there
   Minute 3: raise your heart rate to about 165 -keep it there
   Minute 4: raise your heart rate to about 170- keep it there
   Minute 5: GO ALL OUT! Sprint like hell right from the start of the minute. This will hurt.
2. Check your file log. What was the highest your heart rate got in ? This is your max heart rate. 
3. Check your file log, what was the average HR during minute 5.  Jot this down we will reference this later.
4. If you can’t finish the 5 minutes, use the max HR you achieved + 5

ALTERNATIVES
There are many ways to figure out your max HR, I listed two.  Other methods I really like are the 5k Race test and Polar has a function on some of there HR Monitors that estimates your Max with a series of standing and lying down movements.  If you have a Polar watch that offers this, check it out.  Both my husband and my HR are within a beat or two of our actual max.

3. Calculate your zones: Karyonen Formula

I like this particular method combination over similar ones because it takes into account you’re actual resting Heart Rate and estimated Max.  Some methods use your estimated V02 or only your Max Heart Rate. But by combining the two calculations even if the estimated max is 10 beats off that only puts your zones 1-2 beats off at the most. That is close enough.  The calculated zones also seem to be more inline with actual thresholds… we will talk about that next week.  If you use a method that works off of V02 max and it is off by 5-10 beats then your zone will be mostly wrong right where it counts most. 

The zone calculations are from a method called the Karvonen Formula.  For your convenience, I actually found a website that uses all of this method and will do the calculating for you….Go to

 http://www.fitzones.com/members/Fitness/heartrate_zones.asp#Karvonen_Formula

...fill in your gender, age, Resting Heart Rate and Estimated Max Heart Rate.  It will give you your zones.  If you want the actual formula then here it is:

AND HERE ARE THE ZONE % BREAK DOWN.

Zone 1                    < 60%       Max HR – Resting HR =_______ x 60% + Resting HR

Zone 2             60% - 70%      Max HR – Resting HR =_______ x 70% + Resting HR

Zone 3             70% - 80%      Max HR – Resting HR =_______ x 80% + Resting HR

Zone 4            80% - 90%      Max HR – Resting HR =_______ x 90% + Resting HR

Zone 5           90% +

Post back and let me know your thoughts and questions.