Running heart rate monitor

[Xist]

Vskid, I was running 4.4 miles up and down hills at 6,000 feet, but I focused on the first two miles. I stayed down here due to some bad drama and did not run for a few weeks. Somehow, I ran the two miles faster up and down hills at 6,000 feet than I could at 1,200 feet, even when I was able to run at 7am, when the weather was reasonable.

I tend to focus on running the few months before a PT test and then slack off afterward, but before I started at two miles, and increased by a quarter mile a week. Once I run fast enough, I want to run further, but I do not want to slow down very much at any part, because the slower that I jog, the more that my knees hurt.

The other day, I set my alarm for 6am, but could not fall asleep until 3am, so I turned off my alarm and went back to sleep. When I woke up, I thought it was too warm to go running, so I decided to walk. My heart rate hit 76% (141) at 0.8 miles and was at 88% (163) at two miles. I decided to walk two more, and it hit 96% (178) just before I completed the fourth mile.

I walked four miles in about fifty minutes.

As I mentioned, I ran two miles in 17:39 on a treadmill; my heartrate hit 100% (185) at 1.3 miles and was at 101% (187) when I finished. I rode my bike 1.9 miles each way.

[2000mc]

A little cooler, but higher humidity causing an issue? Not that I was ever that much of a runner, but I always hated the swampy days. soak your shirt, and get none of the cooling, seems like those days left me huffin n puffin a lot more than hotter dry days

[Xist]

I definitely feel like I have difficulty breathing in humidity. Sometimes even in particularly-steamy showers. I tried looking into it, but everything says "hot and humid." No, I can breathe when it is hot, just when it is humid.

Hopefully soon I can talk to a doctor about Pectus excavatum - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, which cannot help.

[j12piprius]

I agree to go faster (target pace) some days, and easier/longer the other days. This is pulsing and gliding (recovering). Otherwise you're going WOT every day and not having any time for recovery.

the slower that I jog, the more that my knees hurt

That doesn't make any sense, because slower running should be easier on your legs. Knee problems in runners are caused 99% of the time by either crowned roads or motion control shoes, i.e. shoes with rigid shapes and bottoms that don't allow your feet and knees to rotate with the surface. Many shoes have wide flares and built up heels, that cause havoc with the knees. I grind them off of my shoes and make them streamlined, like aeroshoes.

Your heart rate is not a big deal, but it's not going to 101% and you're not calculating the percentages correctly. Personally I'd go as long as possible one day, at up to 90%, then 50 to 70% for a couple of days (pulse and glide), then repeat. The longer and harder the pulse, the longer the glide (more recovery days). For example doing a marathon full out at max, would take about 3 weeks to recover, (with suitable gradually increasing pulses in between). You're only training for 2 miles though, so the pulses can be more frequent. The key is to balance the faster (target speed) running with recovery (at 50% to no more than 70% effort). At least make them half and half.

Let's say your maximum HR is 190 and your minimum is 70. I doubt that 190 is your maximum though, because you're running full out every day, and not running that far.
141 = [ 141 - 70 ] / [ 190 / 70 ] = 59%
163 = [ 163 - 70 ] / [ 190 / 70 ] = 78%
187 = [ 187 - 70 ] / [ 190 / 70 ] = 98%

Originally Posted by Xist

I just climbed into bed, counted to sixty, and looked at my monitor, about 70 bpm, 38%.

The minimum HR is at 0% of your heart rate reserve.

70 = [ 70 - 70 ] [ 190 / 70 ] = 0 / 120 = 0%

[Vman455]

You mentioned not falling asleep until 3am and having to get up at 6. How much sleep do you get regularly? How's your diet? These two factors influence athletic performance as much as training. In order to respond to stress (which is all exercise is, albeit carefully applied stress), you must have adequate recovery.

[Xist]

Vman, I turned off my alarm and slept until at least ten. I had a similar difficulty last night, even though I took Zzzquil and melatonin, but it seemed to be partially because I have had a sore throat. I drank a quart of orange juice last night and my throat felt better, but I think that I had additional difficulty sleeping because of my sore throat, and I could not get any good sleep until I dehydrated somewhat.

I usually eat half a box of Kashi for breakfast with skim milk and then eat chicken and vegetables for lunch and dinner. It is probably at least half a pound of chicken that I cook in my Foreman-style grill, and then cook in a crock pot with an equal amount of vegetables. I put some steak seasoning and 2% cheese on it and call it delicious.

[Xist]

Target Heart Rates, American Heart Association

[Xist]

The radio was out when I went to the gym. I decided to do one of the treadmill's programs, so it would not be the monotony of me running at the same speed the entire time. Fitness test sounded interesting, but it was the VO2 sub-max, because apparently the VO2 max can lead to unfit people dying, so they have a weaker version that is not supposed to kill anyone.

I scored 53.8. The treadmill told me that it was "superior," which was small consolation. It maintained the same pace, but increased the inclination from zero to twelve degrees, and said that it would end the test when I sustained 150 bpm for sixty seconds.

That is 80% of my maximum heart rate, what I consider to be barely warming up.

I think that I finished at 145, so presumably a real athlete could complete it at 130 or something.

According to Wikipedia:

The average untrained healthy male will have a VO2 max of approximately 35–40 mL/(kg·min)

and

Elite male runners can consume up to 85 mL/(kg·min)

VO2 max - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

So, 53.8 is 34.3% between 37.5 and 85.

So, I am 34.3% trained?

The world record two-mile run is 7:58.61 [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Two_miles]

[JRMichler]

You are starting with bad information. Maximum heart rate cannot be calculated from a formula because everybody is different. There is no such thing as a heart rate over 100%.

The most popular formula for estimating maximum heart rate is 220 - age. That formula would predict my maximum heart rate to be 220 - 62 = 158. My actual maximum heart rate is about 180. I hit 166 this morning during a tempo run. A tempo run is hard, but nowhere near flat out. I hit a peak heart rate of 177 at the end of a 5k a few years ago.

If you need to pass a PT test by running two miles at a certain speed, you should be training at a speed about two minutes per mile slower than that. Your goal is two miles at 8:51 minutes per mile, so your training runs should be at about 11 minutes per mile. Get your training run distance up to at least three miles, and do that at least five days per week. Six days per week is even better. Then gradually speed up to ten minutes per mile.

Get rid of the heart rate monitor and run by effort. Hard enough to work up a sweat and easy enough to talk in full sentences.

[Xist]

No, JRMichler, I definitely give 110%, and the majority of drivers drive better than average.

So, train a longer distance at a slower speed? How does that help?

The reason that I bought a heart rate monitor is because I have been struggling with running since I came home from Active Duty and I have been trying to figure out why. Even when I run a few times a week for a couple of months, I do not see improvement. We always talk about instrumentation with fuel economy, I wanted to see what is going on.

I often feel like I have difficulty maintaining energy levels and maybe I do, but it seems like I am working my heart as hard as I can, and perhaps it is my limiting factor.