Thumpity Thump Thump

Key Word: Resting, Maximum, Are you OK?
Word Count: 552

First run of the week today! (stupid rain) I was in need of some heart rate data after finding that my resting heart rate is 44bpm (maybe a lil' slower), so I went for a Felix Run from Finish Strong. Coach said, due to the heat, we shouldn't do the two mile hard tempo, opting instead for alternating half-mile hard, with half-mile easy. Naturally, as I was trying to find my maximum heart rate, I opted for something different. After a mile real easy, I took off for a mile hard.

That mile went faster than I thought it would; 8:03! Pretty good since I wasn't in an all out blaze (though I was sprinting at the end). My heart rate got up to a noticeably fast 184 bpm at the end. Half mile with a walk and easy run (Meghan came back by asking "Are you all right?", yes, just resting up to BLAZE a mile). The second fast mile was a bit more of a challenge, and though I didn't notice my exact time at the finish, I think it was 8:20 (this watch makes checking split times difficult or maybe impossible, it's more into heart rate stats). My heart rate trumped itself by topping out at 185 during this interval. Quick break for a wee (believe it or not, I actually didn't get that in before the run ... unlike me), and I met up with Leon for the run back.

185 is probably not my max heart rate, but it's close. I probably need an honest to goodness sprint workout to nail down the max. A supposedly very reliable formula for max heart rate goes like this: 210 minus half your age minus 5% of your body weight plus 4. Sure, why not. That yields a max of 191. Wikipedia claims that 205.8 - (0.685*age) was deemed by some study to be the best formula, though they say there really is no acceptable formula (this one had a standard deviation of about 6 bpm). This would yield a max of 185.

With this info, RunnersWorld UK lists how you come up with running zones (http://www.runnersworld.co.uk/news/article.asp?UAN=176). They use your "working heart rate", or your max minus your resting, as the key for the computations. As they put it, long runs (aka, Saturday morning runs) should be between 60%-70% of your max. To compute that, you take 70% of your working heart rate (here I use 185 as max and 44 as resting), and I get 143 as my heart rate. I would have to run HELLA SLOW to get my HR that low on Saturday morning. If I assume my max heart rate is around 197 (one formula said it should be), 70% lands me at 151 (possible, though still slow pimpin'). Regardless of my exact max, 166 (my cruising HR on Saturday) seems fast, close if not over 80% which is more so a tempo or long fartlek rate. I may try to slow it down, and maintain the slowness and see how I feel. 12 miles on Saturday. Sounds long, but after 18, it should be awesome!