Heart rates and marathon training.

[cowboy]

Training with a heart-rate monitor can be useful if you know what heart rate to train at. I've done a little research, and this is what I've found.

Maximum Heart Rate: As a rule of thumb, this is 220-age, but it can vary widely. The best way to determine your max heart rate is to run sprints until your heart rate quits rising. This can usually be accomplished by about the third 200 meter sprint. Mine should be 181 using the rule of thumb, but I can get it to 194 when I sprint, so I use 194.

Target Heart Rate: This is where you want to train depending on the type of training you are doing. Targets are calculated using the following formula:

Target Heart Rate = ((Max HR- Resting HR) * Target ) + Resting HR

Where, target is the intensity level recommended for the training activity. Target ranges for different marathon training activities are listed below.

Recovery: 60%-70%
Long Runs and Easy Runs: 70%-80%
Steady State and Tempo Runs: 80%-90%
5k intensity: 90%+

Using my resting heart rate of 60 bpm and max of 194, my target ranges are as follows:

Recovery: 140 - 154
Long Runs, Easy Runs: 154 - 167
Steady State and Tempo Runs: 167 - 181

My last marathon was St George, and my heart rate averaged 173 bpms, which suggests that the sustainable long-term level is around 85%.

Anybody disagree or have anything to add to this? I know a number of you have more experience running marathons than I do, so I'm interested in your input.

[bluegoose]

Very good post, cowboy.

Most people use a more simplistic formula for determining their training HR zone, simply by putting (MHR x %MHR). This doesn't take into consideration your HR reserve which is figured in your formula by the resting HR. The way you did it is more accurate. Karvonen's Formula, for anyone interested.

Your average HR seems awfully high over the course of an entire marathon. Thats pretty amazing that you can maintain it that high for so long. From what I've heard, most ironmen triathletes keep their intensity quite a bit lower over the course of the race, somewhere in the 70-80% range.

I bet your resting HR is quite a bit lower than 60 bpm. I would guess when you're in top shape you could take 15 beats off that number.

[Teenage Dirtbag]

Pete Pfitzinger's formula for determining MHR is 207 minus .7 times your age. That would get you in the ballpark, I suppose. His road test to determine it is three high intensity 600m repeats up a moderate hill, immediately jogging back down after each one. He claims by the time you finish the third, you should be within 2-3 beats of MHR, assuming you ran each one all out.

His intensities for workouts using MHR are basically the same as you posted:
VO2max 93-95%
Lactate threshold 82-91%
Marathon pace 79-88%
Long/Medium long 74-84%
General aerobic 70-81%
Recovery <76%

Heart rate reserve is a more accurate way of getting to the right training intensity, which is just MHR minus RHR. Pfitzinger's intensities for HRR:

V02 max 94-94%
Lactate threshold 77-88%
Marathon pace 73-84%
Long/medium long 65-78%
General aerobic 62-75
Recovery <70%

To calculate proper heart rate using HRR, multiply HRR by the percentage you want, then add your RHR.

And no, I don't have all this stuff memorized. I just remembered this chapter from his book and looked it up.

[cowboy]

Your average HR seems awfully high over the course of an entire marathon. Thats pretty amazing that you can maintain it that high for so long. From what I've heard, most ironmen triathletes keep their intensity quite a bit lower over the course of the race, somewhere in the 70-80% range.

Maybe it was high because I wasn't in top shape. I hadn't run for three weeks before the race because I was nursing an injury. I ran it slow, 4:16, but I never did hit a wall. The biggest problem I had during the race was a little cramping in my quad toward the end. I blamed that on not drinking enough because it was raining the whole race and I wasn't ever thirsty.

His intensities for workouts using MHR are basically the same as you posted:
VO2max 93-95%
Lactate threshold 82-91%
Marathon pace 79-88%
Long/Medium long 74-84%
General aerobic 70-81%
Recovery <76%

Heart rate reserve is a more accurate way of getting to the right training intensity, which is just MHR minus RHR. Pfitzinger's intensities for HRR:

V02 max 94-94%
Lactate threshold 77-88%
Marathon pace 73-84%
Long/medium long 65-78%
General aerobic 62-75
Recovery <70%

Thanks, dirtbag, that's good info. For some reason it seems pretty hard to find on the internet.