Long ride pacing vs heart rate vs MPH

Way to many variables involved here.  The fact that you didn't have muscle soreness or cramping could simply be attributed to another year of training.

But in general, if you slow down you will be able to go longer, yes.  And if you slow down on the bike then you should have more left for the run.  That doesn't always hold up though, but it is usually the case.

As for trying to gage it by HR?  Too many factors involved (heat, nutrition, pace, cardiac drift, etc.) for those that are no well versed in their HR and the principles of HR training.  But I'm not a big proponent of HR training to begin with, so take my comments on that with a grain of salt.

To follow up on what Rick said, it's difficult to make judgements on HR or speed alone.  Too many factors can affect these measurements.  I'm thinking that the more your ride, the better attuned you'll get to your perceived exertion (RPE).  You'll then be able to use that as a measurement for your pacing.

My biggest factor on long rides/bricks is how well I fuel my body.  If I remember to eat a good breakfast and then take in over 300 calories an hour while riding, I'll have a strong ride and run afterwards.  If I get lazy on my calorie intake, I'll hit a wall near the end of the ride.  This affects me as much, if not more than, pacing. 

I'd also suggest taking a look at your cadence.  Ideal cadence varies among each rider, but I found that when I slowed mine down to about 80rpm, I felt better running off the bike.  To each his/her own!

If you're typically doing this loop with a 20+ BPM between you're average and you're max, you're fluctuating too much in your intensity.

This is where a PM trumps a HRM- it helps to tighten the shot group, so to speak.  If you paced it correctly with a PM, you wouldn't be hitting those max HR's.

You can still get accurate pacing out of a HRM, but if you have a downloadable HRM you should post the ride here so it can be assessed (if you would like)- I'm sure others would benefit as well from deciphering the ride HR.

But to answer some of your questions specifically- time at a lower HR means more time either at a slower pace, or more muscular fatigue from pushing a large gear at a low cadence.  Since most people try to keep cadence @ 90rpm and higher, the big gear/low cadence isn't as common, so we'll look at the slower pace to get the lower HR.

That extra time adds up, especially if you're looking at 1/2 or full IM distance.  So just because you're going "slower" with less stress on the CR system, it doesn't translate to better run performance.  Fatigue is still evident, but this time it's from the duration instead of the muscualar.

The lower HR won't translate to the run unless you become stronger in the saddle.  The reality is most of us don't have the time/genetics to make this happen.  Strength while riding is putting in the specific volume, intensity, and recovery for the individual to set up feeling fresh for the run. 

A good analogy is why people are sometimes overconfident moving from the Oly to 1/2IM on the bike distance- it's pretty easy for most people to overreach the volume while training for an Oly.  It get's much harder for a 1/2, and even more so for a full (at least, to be "strong".  Imagine if almost every day you hit 70 miles on the bike, and then tapered for a 1/2IM- imagine how strong that bike section would seem then?

Not sure if this helped answer your question- hopefully it did some.  But in the meantime, keep tighter control on your HR and don't let it go more than 5-8bpm over your 4-6hr steady state effort.

Thanks for the responses. My HRM is a Polar F6 so I don't think it is downloadable other than the summaries. I have the high set at 140 BPM and it recorded 1minute 12 seconds above 140 the rest of the time it was between 114 and 139. I live in a valley in Upstate NY so no matter what direction I go I have hills. This is where my HR tends to get into the high range, but I tend to try to power through the hills. Next time I will focus on lower gears to keep the HR down. The other noticeable difference in my riding this year as opposed to last is I am trying to stay in the saddle more.

I tend to relate higher HR with higher energy expenditure. I am going to keep collecting data and  start adding the runs in and see where it goes. Do you fuel long rides similar to fueling long runs? I had a power bar and a gel shot at 2 hours, then Gel shots every 1/2 hour. Total calorie intake was 630 for 4 hours. Did I wait to long to start taking calories in?

chevy57  

Aha- I grew up in Ithaca, so I hear you on the upstate NY valley w/ hills all around.  This was where I actually learned to first use an HRM without the education to go with it.

Nope- the F6 isn't downloadable, but setting the limits will help (if you stick to them).

Powering through the hills is the first step to a cruddy run- unless you start getting alot of time in the saddle, this will always lead to a sub-par run.  Throttling the hills is alot like lighting matches in a box...eventually you get to the last one, and that last one in this case is the start of the run.

Take it easy in the hills and don't treat a training ride like a race.  Yes, higher HR does mean higher caloric expenditure often, but a lower HR as a result of grinding a big gear will create even more muscle fatigue (like pounding up some of those 500-800ft climbs you often see in upstate NY, unless you're in the Catskills or Adiron's.

You also need to start eating sooner in your rides...and 630 kcals is way to low. You need to almost double to triple that number or you're going to set yourself up for failure on the run. 

Gear down, eat more, stay hydrated, and start eating sooner in the ride, and pay attention to your high limits on your HRM.  Plus, try knocking off a few more beats off your high limit.

Good luck- have fun!