bmxsykes

I completed my first 30min crit last weekend. After looking at the info from my Garmin I noticed that my HR was above my LTHR the entire race. Is this normal? I did not have the benefit of drafting since I missed the lead group and the rest of the feild was strung out where I was mostly up front. My training is not structured but ride between 80-150miles a week including 2, 2+ hour "A" training rides. I followed the Time Crunched program 3 weeks prior to the race. How can I keep my HR up the high for 30 but struggle with 3(3x2) threshold workouts?

Ston_ar

Motivation does wonders to how hard you can push yourself.

botto 

yes.

badhat

for a sub 1 hour effort its to be expected.

fordfasterr

without power, it would be hard to tell if you were at/below/above your FTP... then you might be able to tell why your HR was so high...

bmxsykes

So, do I need to do more work above threshold or at threshold to become more efficient?

ldesfor1@ithaca

yes, very normal

badhat

should clarify, not to be expected necessarily, but not surprising, especially for a more or less steady state effort. while imprecise, in theory your LTHR roughly corelates to FTP, which is your max 1-hour power.

so if you are doing a sub 1 hour maximal effort, you should be able to stay just above it. it'll hurt, obv.

bmxsykes

Power, hopefully for Christmas. I would say RPE around 8-9. I didn't feel like I had the "stuff" I normally do, but then again I'm not redlining it the whole time either.

MDcatV

so do nerves when using HR as a metric

badhat

it really is hard to read this forum without power sometimes. i'm in the same boat, training w HR.

if i enjoy racing this year, i'll probably try to budget for power next year, but in the meantime, its been challenging to try to adapt all the power based intervals talked around here using HR and RPE.

fordfasterr

I did that all of last year.... without power.... I could say that I improved but only by luck and consistency.

botto 

don't forget that climbing 'weapon.'

badhat

i'm nothing if not consistent and motivated.

MDcatV

it's doing the work that matters, not how you measure it. the watt meter makes it no brainer to measure intensity during an effort, and the data has applications to track changes in fitness to paralysis through analysis proportions, but the plain and simple truth is that doing the work matters most.

Obscene

When I'm training with the local fast guys I try not to look down at the HR. First, it scares/confuses me why it's so high, and second, I can't break focus for a blink trying to hang on the back with them.

badhat

ha

i actually programmed my garmin A screen not to show mph for the same reason... it just has HR, HR zone, cadence, time of day, and saddle time.

i havent looked at my speed while on the bike since last year.

Obscene

Ya, if I look down and see 30+ MPH I think subconsciously my brain tells my legs "You can't ride this fast!".

pkpsu

I haven't ridden with a computer since last august.
On another note...

Obscene

omg where did that come from lol

echappist

you know, as you train and get fitter, you LTHR increases as your body can handle more aerobic work. otherwise there'd be no point in doing painful intervals. also, as others have mentioned, LTHR is what you can hold for 1 hr, you should be able to go above that for 30min.

hmm, did you meant to say "duraace600 says dial it up to 400w?"

tspek

My RHR is 60. At the line of my last (practice) crit, my HR was at 120. It be what it be...

MDcatV

no. lthr does not go up as you become more fit. power at lthr does. lthr often goes down.

botto 

badhat

interesting

i did not realize this.

i knew that it didnt necessarily go up, and isnt a metric you need to worry about improving (though if youre HR training w/out power, you do need to track it), but i had not heard that it can go down with training.

whats the physiology behind that?