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Watch Discuss Learn October 2017: How to Identify Heart Rate Targets for Race Day

Time for another learning installment from Coach Patrick as part of this regular series, Watch. Discuss. Learn. 

In this installment I talk about, And demonstrate, how to best identify target heart rate zonesFor your next race.Since 2015 endurance nation has encouraged our members to race using heart rate. Since we train almost exclusively with more concrete metrics such as Power and Pace, the transition to using heart rate can be challenging. While heart rate itself is not the best tool for training specificity, on race day It is a critical component of your success.

But how do you know what are the right zones? What's the best way to identify targets for the bike and run? What workout should you use?

All of this is covered in this video! Designed to help you get even more out of your current fitness by properly managing your efforts and your total racing "system."

If you want to learn more about racing with Heart Rate, please refer to the Overview Page and the Details Page in the wiki.

Here's the video...enjoyy!

https://endurancenation.wistia.com/medias/cr6t7w3m3p



Comments

  • edited October 10, 2017 6:30AM
    TrainingPeaks now automatically tracks max 60 minute, 20 minute, etc. heart rate as part of their peak performances. I’ve started looking at these as another racing cue — for example, I know my 60-minute run max is just over 180 bpm, so if I see my heart rate crossing 180 I’d better have less than an hour left. 

    Also, while heart rate has variability issues for day-to-day training, I’m now paying pretty close attention to it while training when sick (with a head cold) as a way to hold myself back. If a workout calls for z2, I’ll put a hard cap at my z2 heart rate even if that means going lower than the usual z2 power or pace. 
  • I definitely use my bike heart rate to start my run. Also I train in pancake flat terrain. HR helps me determine what pace I should be pushing on the hills I find on race day. 

    The key on race day for me is knowing when to take of the governor and let fly the dogs of war (stop looking at HR and RUN!)

    the max HR / duration sounds interesting as long as you have good data. I’m not sure that I execute our run plans in such a way that I have good  5’, 10’, 20’, 30’ maximal efforts. I have lots of intervals that are close(ish) but not much we’re im balls out killing myself like I do at the end of a race. 

    the long runs say say best effort push at the end but honestly I rarely do so.   I guess knowing that I need to know how high I can take my HR for 30’ after I’ve already ran 10+ miles I might do so. 

    It would be like adding a quasi test in a workout specifically to produce results that can help me plan my race execution. 
  • Ive been doing this since July when I raced Frankfurt & I paid little to no attention to my HR on the bike, I knew it was high but was just thinking "yeah, its hot, thats why", after some discussions with coach P and looking at my historical data it became very clear why I had gut issues in Frankfurt (high HR).

    I just raced Challenge Mallorca and this time knew my "band width" for HR on both Bike & Run after constantly looking at the data after key workouts for the last couple of months, I had a much more satisfying day where I was able to race with much more confidence that what I was doing was sustainable and ended up with a new 70.3/ half distance PR. It's another tool to use along with power & pace to help with better race execution.
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