Met Mike for another North County Coastal Loop, this time we came back through Rancho Santa Fe instead of Elfin Forest. These rides are not supposed to be very high intensity, but rather base mileage rides, going for distance.
I’ve been training with a heart rate monitor since the Alpine Challenge and I’m starting to see patterns. In the Alpine Challenge, I spent over 2.5 hours climbing Dehesa grade between 85-95% of HRmax. On Monday’s Tour de Scripps Ranch, which is basically a series of intervals, I broke my TT record by holding my pulse between 90-95% HRmax for just over 20 minutes and I broke my record to HWY 67 so decisvely by climbing above 95% HRmax for 9 short minutes.
Here’s my HR profile from this ride.
There is a big day climbing scheduled for Saturday, so today I wanted to keep it pretty reasonable. I never went over 90% and spent 44% of my time between 70-80%. Today, my plan is to spin on the trainer for 45 minutes or so at 70% to flush the legs of any lactic acid buildup.
So what do all these HR numbers mean? Honestly, I don’t really know yet. But I think if I get enough data, a pattern will emerge that will allow get me to the next level of fitness. I think training with an HRM will show me when I can go faster, when I should slow down and maybe even when I should take a day off.
What do you know about training with an HRM?
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Hi Arlyn,
I also train with a heart rate monitor. I took a test at The Human Performance Lab here in Raleigh which really helped me learn my zones. Here’s the website: http://www.meredith.edu/hess/lab/default.htm
Here are the simple terms of the zones you learn and each persons heart rate differs obvioucly with each zone:
Base: Long duration and recovery exercise. Primarily stressing (training) the aerobic system. Training in this zone
time and maximizes development of the functional capacity of the central circulation (i.e. your bodies ability to transport remove waste). It also enhances aerobic capacity of the specific muscles and the systems within those muscles.
T1: Where many people train. Not predominently aerobic or anerobic. In this zone the aerobic or threshold system are not being trained specifically. While the average heart rate may fall into this zone it is not suggested to train in this zone exclusively.
T2: High quality, pace and interval type training. Stressing both anaerobic and aerobic systems. Training in this zone requires a greater amount of recovery between workouts breakdown of both the anaerobic and aerobic systems is high. This type of training is threshold specific training and may compromise the aerobic system or cause overtraining if used too much.
SS: Speed work. Stressing the anaerobic system. Training in this zone requires the greatest amount of recovery and overtraining is likely if used too much. Above AT trains an individual for short duration high intensity bouts shifting metabolism to anaerobic and possibly compromising the aerobic system.
SIGNS OF OVERTRAINING: Unexplained poor performance and high fatigue ratings, Need for prolonged recovery from typical training
sessions, Disturbed mood states, Persistent feelings of muscle and/or joint soreness and stiffness, Overuse injuries, Altered perception of effort at relative heart rates.