IN THE TWILIGHT ZONE: HEART RATE ZONING

HEART RATE ZONING Tracking your heart rate (BPM) with a monitor tells you exactly how hard—or easy—your heart is pumping. I started out with a simple Polar my mum insisted I used (she was so afraid that I’d push myself beyond limits!) and have in the past two months availed myself of the top of the range Garmin 910XT. OK ok – I am a tech geek and love new toys! Also – I carelessly left my heart belt behind at the East Coast hawker centre toilet after one Cold Storage Triathlon!

Group runs help u keep the steady pace....

Suffer together in Glee...and

Enjoy the flora and fauna on your runs in parks and such...

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But I digress … this new toy helps avert the most common mistakes that runners usually commit - running too fast too furious (and here’s my homage to the late Paul Walker), which puts one at risk for injury and burnout. I have heard pple talking about running in the Zone. What this means is using the heart rate monitor to have your bpm fall within a certain prescribed range for your fitness level..eg 65 to 80 percent for most runs and perhaps expecting a 90 percent or more as one makes a glorious dash to the finish line in the last 100 m for the best of pic taking opp and to look as if you were running @ that pace all the while for the cheering crowd! Here is a general guideline that is prescribed: • Zone 1: 60 to 70 %; very comfortable effort; use this for warmup and cooldown • Zone 2: 70 to 80 %; comfortable enough to hold a conversation; most training is done here • Zone 3: 81 to 93%; “comfortably hard” effort; you may be able to say short, broken sentences. • Zone 4: 94 to 100%; hard effort; the pace is sustainable, but conversation is a few words at a time. I had been erstwhile using the old formula of 220 minus your age to arrive at the max hear rate. Using this puts my max at 169 (yes, yes, I am 51 yrs old) and 70% of that wld mean a 118 bpm target for running which means I wld have to casually saunter from start to finish. Hmm…quite the salah, right? I like to take pics in a race but this pace CMI wor!

The word is out that this formula may be inaccurate for most people. It’s better to monitor your heart rate based on something known as heart rate reserve, which is more accurate!! Here’s how to find your heart-rate reserve: • Get your max heart rate. You can get an estimate of your heart rate reserve, by doing a time trial or race at an all-out effort. • In a 5-K competitive race, you will likely be able to sustain about 97% of your max heart rate, If I used my last TRIFACTOR 5 km race recorded on Garmin as a test case, my max heart rate there was : 185 •

Alternatively, I will be doing 3.2 km time trial. Here’s how: On a track I will run 4 laps ( 1.6 km) easy to warm up, then run 3.2 km (eight laps around the track) at the fastest pace that I could sustain, trying to run each lap at roughly the same pace. I should then have a good estimate of my max heart rate. Should be ard 185 or more. Let’s see I will post the recording trial here in this blog in the near future! • Get your resting heart rate. Take your pulse at as soon as you wake up, before you get out of bed. Find out how many beats per minute by counting your pulse for a full minute. • Find your heart rate reserve. Your heart rate reserve (HRR) is your max heart rate minus your resting heart rate. • Know your zones. To find out which numbers to target on which runs, multiply your heart rate reserve by the zone you’re running in, then add back your resting heart rate.

 Here’s an example: • In my case I have a max heart rate of 185 and a resting heart rate of 78. • Your heart rate reserve would be 185 – 78 = 107. • To find out which number you should target for your warmup, when you want to be working at 65%, you’d use this formula: • Heart Rate Reserve x 65% + Resting heart rate • 107 x 0.65 (65% of heart rate for an easy run) = 69.55 + 78 (Resting heart rate) = 147.55 • So I wld target about 147 for my warm up. If the number is higher, I am working too hard. If it’s lower, I wld need to pick up the pace. VOILA!! See an expert.

This trusty Garmin really helps take the guess work out!

If you’re really want to find out exactly what your max heart rate and heart rate reserve are, go and do a treadmill test. This test typically involves running on a treadmill while hooked up to machines that monitor your heart rate and blood pressure.. Your heart rate at that maximum effort is your max heart rate. I would recommend this stress test for all who wish to embark on triathlons and races to rule out any unusual pre-existing condition that may be injurious to your sporting activity. I will be getting this done come 8th January 2014 – so watch out this space!! Know the limits.

Even when you know your max heart rate, and know the training zones, realize that there are certain limitations when using a heart-rate monitor to gauge how hard you’re working out. The following will cause inaccurate readings: • In the gym, the signals from the machines might interfere with an accurate reading. • Dehydration • Hot Weather • Existing Debilitating pain • Medications (pain blockers, etc) When you’re just starting to work out, you have to carefully weigh whether HEART RATE MONITORING is right to you. It’s best to work by feel at first. This is what our self appointed  motivation and fitness coach Kamen says.

Spend time naturally getting into a rhythm of walking or running that feels comfortable enough to hold a conversation. It takes a while to get to a point where the running feels relaxed and natural. Listen to your own body and get a feel of what is comfortable, what is painful and adjust your pace accordingly. Once you do, you should target that comfort feeling during each run. Believe in yourself ! Focus and listen to your body.

When all is said and done, being in tune with your own body and what it can do is something each of us should know and be totally aware of. Too often , I was guilty of constantly glancing at the Garmin to see if I was over exerting ...that in itself can be a distraction to good pacing and rhythm of stride. I guess once u got the basics and the feel, you shld put a little more trust in how u urself feel and just take glances at the Garmin to confirm the way you feel. Case in point is notwithstanding the low zone reading, you push yourself despite the unease in your breathing and palpitation ,slow down! listen to your body!! Even during a 6.2 km trial run I was reminded  NOT  to look at my Garmin watch and instead focus on doing rhythmic, regular, comfortable strides and pacing ...taking cues from whr I cld still hold a conversation or whr I was getting blue in the face LOL!  Luckily my best Dr mate Cliff was running beside me and I felt totaly at ease knowing immediate resuscitation is at hand from him!

In Endurance events, races are not won by sheer speed alone, but by being able to plod thru at a constant pace that doesn’t heat up your engine too soon too fast too furious only to hit a wall. There is truth in the adage ‘Slow and Steady Wins the Race…” after all. Come back next time to find out more about nutrition and fuelling pre and post race; and during the race itself. There’s a lot of writing and opinions out there too! I also want to see how we can track the heart rate zone in swimming.

Beware Buayas on the Route, though! LOL.