Last question on HR-I promise!

Couple of things.

When I use Friel's method for determining heart rate zones using a 20 minute test ( it sounds like this is what you were doing ) the protocol is to treat the *entire* 30 minutes as if it's a race, so using the first 10 minutes to warm up, and only speeding up a minute before hitting the beginning of the 20 minute period would be incorrect.

An Excerpt from Joe Friel's blog:

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"Again, it should be done as if it was a race for the entire 30 minutes. But at 10 minutes into the test click the lap button on your heart rate monitor. When done look to see what your average heart rate was for the last 20 minutes. That number is an approximation of your LTHR.

Note: I am frequently asked if you should go hard for the first 10 minutes. The answer is yes. Go hard for the entire 30 minutes."

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http://www.trainingbible.com/joesblog/2009/11/quick-guide-to-settin...

There are a few reason for this, such as the heart rate taking a while to build up when at a certain intensity, causing the resulting heart rate average to possibly be wrong, and also, only maintaining the intensity for 20-21 minutes instead of 30, makes the effort in of itself correlate less with a 1 hour threshold effort.

I'd do the test again but the "warm-up" wouldn't be part of the 30 minutes, you should have a hard even pace the full 30 minutes, while only taking the heart rate average of the final 20.

The max heart rate you get during the test is meaningless, it's only the average you are after. You'd need a more specific protocol like a ramp test if you want to approach your theoretical max heart rate, though I fine more success with super hard intervals, or the very and of certain shorter races personally.

Comparing the 220-age versus your calculated threshold doesn't really tell us anything ( and 220-age is supposed to be correlated with max theoretical heart rate, rather than your 1 hour threshold, so this tells us you just have a higher heart rate than the rule of thumb equation would have you expect )

There is a lot of variety in max heart rates, threshold heart rates, resting heart rates, so from the number alone we can't tell how fit or unfit someone is, but comparing your own numbers over time you can see changes in your own fitness.

Eg, when people are un-fit, their heart rates tend to get very high more easily than when they are fit. What type of training can effect these numbers as well.

Hope this helps.

Edited by dfquigley 2016-01-28 1:13 AM

It's very simple. Do a warm up for 15-20 minutes. Then at the 20 minute mark hit the lap button. This is where you have to start running hard. 10k race pace or better. You need to go hard enough you can last for 30 minutes without failing. 10 minutes in you hit the lap button and those last 20 minutes is what your average hr should be.

It's a pretty cookie cutter plan. You can't shortchange it otherwise it's not quite an accurate reading, and it's a hard test which shouldn't be easy.

Good luck.

Thanks folks! Much appreciated. I will re-do the test. It is hard to find that pace that can be attained for 30 minutes, but still feel like you gave it everything you had. I will treat the test like a 10K that I am trying for a PR.
Thanks again. I learn something every day on this site!
Barry

"The first rule of testing is to throw out the first test" - Olympic Running Coach Bobby McGee

Like others said, it's a do-over.

Not sure if someone mentioned it above, but throw out the 220-age test. It's not that it's unreliable its that it's a statistically derved formula with a standard deviation of 6-8 beats. What is it then...95 % of the population will fall within 2 SDs on either side? So it's just not accurate. But there's a good chance you'll fall in there somewhere...

It took me a few shots to really get good at 30 minute tests on the run as well as the 20 minute bike FTP protocol as well.

After you've tested a few times and you know about where to hit, you'll have an easier fine tuning your effort levels.

I've had it go both ways, do better on the same test 3 times in a row, and also blowing up before it's done cause I went too hard, before I finally nailed it.

Very glad I did go to all the trouble though! Great exercise in pacing too!