Couldn't get my heart rate up

JClishe

Had a strange workout on the trainer last night. I was doing 2 x 10's and I just could not stay in zone 4. Took about 6 minutes on the first interval to even get into z4 but I couldn't stay there, kept falling out. The second interval was a little better but I still had to push harder than usual and I still kep falling out.

Now that I've had a chance to analyze the workout and compare it to previous workouts, my average HR across both 10' intervals last night was 8 bpm lower than my average HR across Tuesday's 3x8's, while average pace and cadence remained pretty much the same (as did the gear I was riding in).

Anyone ever have workouts like that? Any explanation for why the HR won't stay in the desired zone, everything else being equal? Believe me, I wasn't slacking off, and there was a swamp of sweat underneath me to prove it.

Jason

Dave Campbell

Jason, I had one of those a couple weeks ago. At the same old power numbers, cadence, etc, Hr was just off about 10 beats. I put up a post in the general folder about it, and the best I can figure, it was just an odd data point, maybe better rested, better hydrated, etc? I've seen the other end to this too, with no apparent reason it might be 10 beats higher than what would be normal. One of the main reasons I bought the Powertap was to have another reference point. See what happens next time out, I'll bet its back to the usual range.

Norton

My experience with inability to raise HR is that I'm either under-recovered or low on blood sugar.

Mike Hedman

Jason,
Seems to me this is a good thing. If your pace was consistent with last time, but your HR was lower, then that's good. As Dave and Bill point out, there are lots of factors that go into how fast your heart thinks it needs to beat. I would keep tracking your numbers, and maybe scribble down some notes about rest, hydration, residual fatigue, etc. Over time I'm guessing you will see patterns emerging.

Keep us updated!

Gordon Cherwoniak

Jason,

Like Bill when I can't get my HR up I am usually starting to dip in to overreaching territory and a little extra sleep or recovery helps.  Mike's suggestion about notes helps to determine the other factors that will influence HR.  Did you do the workout at a different time, like switching to afternoon rather than morning. 

Also consider any additonal holiday season stresses such as additional work/family gatherings which may have comtributed to less sleep, changes in eating patterns and alcohol consumption if you drink.

Gordon

JClishe

Hmmm, interesting, you guys might be onto something. I'm in week 3 of the OS and this is actually my first week of following the prescribed schedule. I travelled in week 1 and had to shift things around to get my tests in, and last week I also had to miss a workout. So Thursday's trainer ride was my first 3rd consecutive workout of the OS, if that makes sense. So there definitely could have been some lingering fatigue.

I'll just brush it off for now and monitor future workouts to see if it's a recurring trend.

kurshing

Never thought about the HR being low as an indicator of something negative, like being under recovered...but, it does further the proposition that HR isn't the ideal metric for training.

Dave Campbell

Since your other metrics, avg cadence, gear, speed, distance of interval, seemed to be in line with previous, it makes me think you were doing the work, just your Hr was off. Sometimes I wonder if other electronics in the area affect this, like my Ipod, or other electronics. Seems like if you were under-recovered and just not on your game, your other metrics would have showed that drop off also. Keep us posted about the next one.