Some people will tell you to start training with a heart rate monitor.
I may or may not be one of these people. I'm not 100% convinced yet.
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| Tappan being all speedy at the end of a 10 mile race |
Initially, I couldn't stand it because I didn't like the feeling of the heart rate monitor band around my rib cage, but now I don't even notice it.
I think there is a lot to be learned about following your heart rate when training and I am just beginning to scratch the surface of it.
Here's some info that I've found from snooping around the internet. I found most of my info from Runner's World, Sports Med Web, and the Competitor.
PROS of using a Heart Rate Monitor:
- Helps you to train smarter-- you have a better gauge of your true level of exertion
- Helps you train more effectively and find your best TRAINING paces
- Are you running your long runs too fast? You may be doing more harm than good if you are training in an anaerobic zone during your long runs...
- Helps you find your best RACING paces
- You can only maintain certain heart rate zones for certain amounts of time before you burn out and this can help keep you from "hitting the wall."
CONS of using a Heart Rate Monitor:
- I always feel like I'm going too slow when I'm staying in certain zones and this annoys me.
- It took me a run or two to get used to the feeling of wearing the heart rate monitor (and it's easy to forget to put it on if you aren't used to it!)
- It seems like it would be easy to get caught up with these numbers and become a little too obsessive and I could see this happening to me :(...which I'm afraid would take the joy out of running and completely turn it into a numbers game.
- If you use caffeine while you jog (many GUs contain caffeine), this will make the HR numbers wonky, so you can't rely on them in the same way. Same goes for altitude, hot weather, and some medications.
HOW TO TRAIN with a Heart Rate Monitor: TRAINING ZONES
FIRST, determine your Max Heart Rate (MHR), either with a formula or get tested on a treadmill/track:
Max Heart Rate = 207 - (your age X 0.5)
Note: There are TONS of different formulas that you can use to determine your max HR that all give approx the same values. I just randomly picked this one from Runner's World.
Then run your different workouts at the following percentages of your maximum heart rate:
- EASY and LONG RUNS: 65 to 75% of MHR
- TEMPO RUN: 87 to 92% of MRH
- INTERVAL REPEATS: 95 to 100% MHR
GO to THIS WEBSITE to plug in your age and resting heart rate in order to find out what the exact heart rate numbers correspond to.
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| Running a long run this summer with my marathon training team. Pre-heart rate monitor. |
When you run races, here are the heart rate zones where you should keep your heart rate in order to race your best:
- 5K: 95 to 97%
- 10K: 92 to 94%
- HALF MARATHON: 85 to 88%
- MARATHON: 80 to 85%
By watching your heart rate, you can ensure that you are racing at an appropriate pace. If you're running a marathon at too high of a heart rate (such as 95%), you'll bonk, hit the wall and not be able to maintain that pace for that long of a distance.
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| Racing off my pantalones during mile 18-ish of the Rehoboth Marathon |
Here's an example of me and a 10K:
My 10K heart rate range is supposed to be 174 to 178, but I actually ran this virtual 10K with an average heart rate of 161. So does that mean that I should have pushed myself harder? And you'll notice that my heart rate jumped up at the end, for the final push, but that's to be expected.
What do you think of Heart Rate Training? Do you train with a HR monitor?
I DO wear my HR monitor when I run, but it's just for gathering data at this point. I don't actually modify my runs to stay in certain zones...I just like to gather data and perhaps at some point in the future I'll actually pay more attention to it. As I mentioned, it usually says I'm at the higher end of the recommended zones and it's hard for me to purposely slow down sometimes.
when i first started training for triathlons, i had to wear a HR monitor and stick to my zones for every single workout. my coaches always said you should hardly ever train at race pace. i got bored staying in Z1 for a straight 5 hours. this past year with my new coach we didnt use a hr monitor very often. now we are using it again...i'm curious to see how my season will turn out. let us know how it works out for you!
ReplyDeletebtw, i cant tell you how disheartening it is right now to train with my HR monitor...i'm running whopping 10 minute miles in order to stay under HR 150!
ReplyDeletemine doesn't work :( i don't know what I am doing wrong but it won't connect with my watch.
ReplyDeletei also hate the way it feels, but with most things it is good to get out of your comfort zone and try something new. maybe if i can get it fixed you can make me a heart rate monitor kind of girl
I really don't have an opinion about the HR monitor...I don't wear it, that's for sure!! :) Hope it helps your training.
ReplyDeleteYears ago I used one faithfully, then decided to ditch it and run by feel. I like the latter better. But since being injured this year, I have also considered using the Maff method (180-minus age) to keep my h.r. super low most of the time. I should be doing it, but haven't. So I believe in it but don't want to have to go that slow! Stupid!
ReplyDeleteI have one but don't wear it. It all seemed a little bit to much work to pay attention to so I've never really been interested. This post was the easiest thing I've followed though, may have to pull it out one of these days to fiddle!
ReplyDeleteI train with my hr monitor and I love it for everything other than running. My hr sky rockets when i run and I can't fix it....I just sit on my max for the entire run and try not to blow up my body :) I do find it really useful with other activities just to monitor my energy output vs. my perceived output!
ReplyDeleteI think HR training makes total sense. In the next cycle, I'm going to start doing it (especially after reading how you used it at Rehobeth!). I used to do it but got out of the habit.
ReplyDeleteTHANK YOU for your nice comment on my blog post, K. I really appreciate it.
I've been wanting a HR monitor, but that was before I realized how useful they were for running. I'm not sure I'd rely on it since I'm already so used to pace, but it'd be interesting to try one out.
ReplyDeleteI use my heart rate monitor for spinning, never for running. But I might attempt using it for running depending on how my training goes for the half in April. We'll see :)
ReplyDeleteGreat post about heartrate monitors, that is the best way I like to train and race! I feel like it helps to keep me in check during training and races.
ReplyDeleteOne thing though, everyone's max heartrate is different, so taking a formula to determine your max heartrate isn't always accurate. The best way I found to get it is to basically try to completely max out your body on a workout, take note of the highest number that you see on your monitor, and then add like 5 beats or so to this. This likely will be close to your maximum heartrate.
I may have already sent you this link, but I did a post a while back on heartrate training:
http://nellyontherun.blogspot.com/2011/05/whats-your-heartrate.html
i was LOVING reading your thoughts, opinions, etc on HR training. I am hearing more and more about it and how good it is but i have not yet just jumped in and taken the effort to try it. still not sure if i will yet. so i am not sure where i stand but i enjoy learning about it!
ReplyDeleteI have never used my HR monitor with my Garmin. I've always figured it's just another number that I don't want to have to be aware of! However, when I was in college I took a couple of kinesiology classes to go along with my nutrition degree and for almost all of them I remember HR training was mentioned or a part of the standard programs. I could go either way on this topic!
ReplyDeletei have tried it, but honestly not really given it a chance. I haven't seen anything yet that has convinced me to do it, mostly because it seems like everyone gives up on it!
ReplyDeleteI used to run with mine, but I haven't really paid enough attention to it to use it to my advantage. This was really informative though. I may break mine out just to see what it tells me!
ReplyDeleteSo glad you just posted about this! We had a long discussion at my group run this past weekend about long runs and HRM's. The consensus from the men in the group is that the HRM is beneficial in helping a runner slow down on the long run. I am guilty of running my long runs too fast. I have a HRM but haven't used it...yet!
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post! I've read a lot about it too, but never got in the habit of training with my hr monitor...mostly for the reasons you listed. I want to train smart, but I also don't want to obsess over every little number. But it is interested data to track!
ReplyDeleteI go back and forth between wearing one and not... I am going to start wearing mine again faithfully on my LSR for our half training. I know I run too fast and the HRM makes me stay down there!
ReplyDeleteGreat write up.
I don't run, but I use when when doing step aerobics and cardio-weight classes. I never really minded the feeling of it around my chest. I did find it helpful to see where I was and where I wanted to be.
ReplyDelete*Erin
Oh, I'm already a Garmin addict. I don't think I can add another doodad to my running, too many distractions!!! I get a little OCD on the numbers and that gets in the way of my happy-run-space-out.
ReplyDeleteI have always heard so many people say they workout with a heart monitor, I have never really considered using one but now it sounds like a pretty smart idea.
ReplyDeletei've been using one since september and i still have mixed feelings about it. like you, i often find when i need to run in certain zones my effort feels glacial. the fact that i drink insane amounts of coffee makes this tool very tricky for me to figure out as well. but i do 100% find it helpful in strength training.
ReplyDeleteI don't have one, but I can see why it makes sense. I have a feeling it would take all the fun out of it for me--I only started tracking my time and distance more carefully in the last year! Baby steps, I suppose. But I think I may want to add this to my routine just to be sure I'm not overtraining.
ReplyDeleteI've been wearing my HRM a lot latety but I hadn't seen the numbers you're supposed to hit when racing certain distances. Thanks for sharing that - really interesting to me!
ReplyDeleteI tried to get into heart rate training last year, but I got really frustrated when I wanted to run faster (on easy runs) but per my heart rate it was too fast! Plus, I drink a lot of coffee so I'm sure I'm slightly tachy at all times, ha.
ReplyDeleteI have very mixed thoughts about heart-rate...maybe because I have a very unpredictable HR, sometimes I am soooo excited before a race my heart is skyrocketing...and other times it is super low and controlled (yet I;m running the same pace) in the mornings if I drink to much coffee before I run then I have a spazzy HR, and when I run at night it's super low.
ReplyDeleteMaybe HR training depends on the person?
thanks for sharing this info it was a great post, definitely brought about a lot of thinking!
xoxo!
great post!! ya, i did one on heart rate monitors in the past, and my verdict is that to each their own. some people are in love with them, but others not so much...watever motivates u then i'm all for it. i do think that at least trying one for a few times to 'check' wat an easy/hard workout/race level effort feels like is a good idea...as in wear one on a few easy days so u know wat an easy effort REALLY feels like. :)
ReplyDeleteThat is seriously fascinating!! I love playing with things like that so I'm sure I'd give it a try. For the most part, I think I am pretty honest with myself and I know when I can give more. But baby, I LOVE DATA!!! I really do. I go nerd crazy on my Garmin!
ReplyDeleteI think its something I'd try. I know my cuz uses one b/c it kept going off saying she was going too fast when we were running together :P I think it'd be good for my long runs, b/c I know I should run them slower -nice post! I missed you!
ReplyDeleteI had never heard of this technique! I would like to hear your long term results
ReplyDeleteSERIOUSLY...best post ever. I have actually started to do this during my base training. I have been wearing my garmin to make sure I stay aerobic. Thank you for all of this info, I will be bookmarking this post!
ReplyDeleteI have the garmin HRM but I never wear it. I think I've worn it three times in the last 2 years - I just don't like it, and I don't see the point of HR training. You have made me interested so maybe i'll wear it on a few long runs.
ReplyDeleteThis is a very informative post! I think you can gain a lot of knowledge and feedback from HR training, but I think it would be overload for me! I have just started using a garmin after having 'run naked' my whole life. I think knowing my HR would tip me over the edge haha. (I am loving the garmin tho!) :)
ReplyDeleteVery interesting! I would love to be that dedicated to the numbers as I run. Would love to give it a shot over one training cycle to see how it affects the outcome. Thanks for the info!
ReplyDeleteI used to, but then it started irritating me. I do wish I was more consistent with it! I had great training/races when I was monitoring my hr - both resting and mid-workout.
ReplyDeleteCame across your blog when attempting to find the hours of the JCREW warehouse sale. Congrats on your qualifier. I miss seeing you and Tappan. Happy New Year. Hope you guys are doing well.
ReplyDeleteI have trained with a HRM for years. I try not to take it too crazy. I basically divide things up into two zones: hard and not so hard. For me Hard is more than 90% Max. If I am close to or over 90%, then I better slow down, because a crash is coming, sooner or later. And recovery will be harder. On the other hand if I am in a comfort zone (80-87% or so), I am ok and doing good. I can never run slow enough to be in the LSD category. Drives me crazy.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, sometimes I think, geesh this is really, really hard!, and I look down and HRM tells me, Eh, not really - you aren't really working that hard. And I think OK, this will pass and its ok.