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How the heck did I do that???

Julie PfeifleJulie Pfeifle
in General Training Discussions
Hey smart EN folks, I just ran a 1/2 mary (Plano Hot Air Balloon Festival) last weekend while visiting my daughter in Dallas... great way to get a long run in while training for IM AZ!  I'm super pleased with how it turned out, but quite pleasantly perplexed about my stats (especially the heart rate).  My long runs have been in the 9:30 - 10:15 range, while capping my hr at 150, especially when running in the heat, which I seem to be doing a lot of this summer.

This race was 73 degrees at 7am and got hotter, but I'm not sure how much hotter.  They had pacers, so I couldn't help but start with the 2:00 group, thinking this might be a mistake.  Well... I settled right in, and after mile 6, I found myself little by little leaving them in the dust. :)   
Final time - 1:56, avg pace - 8:48, avg hr - 163 (huh??)
I negative split, from 9:12 - 8:30s the last couple miles, AND the heart rate 142 1st mile -> 150+ from mile 2 on -> 170s -> 180 the last .2 !!!  I don't think I've ever seen that kind of heart rate racing, but the weird thing is I felt ok!  I mean, I was working very hard certainly (and people heard me coming) but I felt in control.  It was a beautiful thing (and first time in a while I felt I ran closer to my potential)!   But... that heart rate!!  Why so high?  Was it the heat (which maybe got to low 80s)?  How should I use this data to adjust my capped heart rate for an IM?  It seems like such an outlier!  fyi, I drank Gatorade, somex water, at each aid station and ate a blok almost every 2 miles.  I did not dump water on myself, as I didn't feel super hot and didn't want to risk blisters (which has been an issue in past).

By the way, I got AG3 out of almost 40 in the 55-59 group, so ... icing on the cake. :)

Thanks for any input on the heart rate!!

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Comments

  • Robert SaboRobert Sabo
    I would chalk it up to a hot day and a great effort. I would not change anything about your heart rate plan for IM based on one race. See how you feel on your next long run and check the heart rates. You always have 8.2 miles after mile 18 to pick up the pace if you're feeling great at IMAZ. 
    Congratulations on your age group podium. 
  • Doug JohnsonDoug Johnson
    Congratulations on the strong performance Julie!

    Were you wearing a wrist-based HR monitor?  There are several articles out there documenting their inaccuracy.
  • Scott AlexanderScott Alexander
    North Texas humidity! It sneaks up on you. You seemed to have dealt with it, which is a great result. Congrats!

    Hope you enjoyed your visit to North TX!
  • Shaughn SimmonsShaughn Simmons
    Look at the Heat Index as Scott mentions, very easy to underestimate and shows up in your HR.

    SS
  • Derrek SanksDerrek Sanks
    Congratulations on your race and podium! I call that getting faster! Have you heard the saying, train slow to run fast? That's what you've been doing and proved it at the race. Your HR is higher because you were working harder than your typical long run pace (8:48 vs. 9:30-10:15). Plus you were acclimated to the heat so your body was able to handle the temps without making you reduce your pace. Though the heat also contributed to your higher HR, there's nothing to worry about but I recommend plugging your race results into the run test calculator to see if you need to adjust your HR or pace zones or at least compare it to your current zones.
  • tim cronktim cronk
    Heat... kudos for not allowing your HR to become a limiter.... Wouldn't adjust a thing going forward as the data from ONE event/session does not make a trend and could be an outlier..
  • Julie PfeifleJulie Pfeifle
    Thanks all for your valuable feedback!
    @Doug Johnson, I was not wearing a wrist HRM, but was wearing a 1-week old wahoo tickr.  prior training hr looked ok.
    @Scott Alexander, @Shaughn Simmons - love TX and have spent a lot of time there last 4 years... and seem to race pretty well there (did Hottest Half 2015 with another good "hot" result).  Before my daughter graduates this May, should I do IM TX?? :)
    @Derrek Sanks, I am loving the train slow to run fast, as it seems mentally I don't have enough energy to train fast (with busy work schedule), so it seems saving it for race day is working... never ceases to surprise me tho how that works!


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