Training & Nutrition - New high - observed heart rate

During a race with my local bike club over the weekend I noticed that my heart rate had hit 180 a couple of times (previously only 176) and I spent more of the race in a higher zone (165-170 range) than I normally do. The rest of Saturday I was very tired and Sunday was the same though I did manage an easy 1 hour ride on Sunday and slept great both nights. I'm 44 and a recreational cyclist but I do like to push myself and do some spint and interval training and some off-the-bike stuff.

My questions is this - is it a good thing that I see my maximum attainable heart rate rise (I presume it means I'm more fit)and second, is it normal to be very very tired after a workout where I spend so much time in the 90-95% zone (about 75 minutes)? That last 2 km in the race were especially tough - I had no gas in the tank - the last hill really did me in. Thanks, Ben

I also saw mine hit a high of 186, up from 183 a year ago.

I don't know how you're supposed to feel when you're at your max. Shouldn't you be falling on the ground puking?

went on a climb today with my mtb, tried to up the pace and saw my hr reach 219
took a rest and eased up the hill at 165-170

Generally it is very difficult to achieve your maximum heart rate. You are not seeing your maximum heart rate increase. You are just finding the motivation to push youself hard enough to get closer to it.

During a race with my local bike club over the weekend I noticed that my heart rate had hit 180 a couple of times (previously only 176) and I spent more of the race in a higher zone (165-170 range) than I normally do. The rest of Saturday I was very tired and Sunday was the same though I did manage an easy 1 hour ride on Sunday and slept great both nights. I'm 44 and a recreational cyclist but I do like to push myself and do some spint and interval training and some off-the-bike stuff.

My questions is this - is it a good thing that I see my maximum attainable heart rate rise (I presume it means I'm more fit)and second, is it normal to be very very tired after a workout where I spend so much time in the 90-95% zone (about 75 minutes)? That last 2 km in the race were especially tough - I had no gas in the tank - the last hill really did me in. Thanks, Ben

my max is always 190bpm eventhough i trained since 2 yrs ago. but yeah, it is very very tired after a hard workout/race but you`ll get over it if u train frequently and rest accordingly as well. its amazing to hear that you can maintain your heartrate around 90-95% over an hour. good luck!

It is very normal to be tired after a ride like that. This weekend I did a race where my average hr for 1 hour 50 minutes was 165 bpm. My max hr is 181 - 182 so I was at 91%. I was exhausted afterwards and pretty tired the entire next day as well. The heat didn't help matters either.

you puss


I have hit 209 once and 211 once. then decided to
never try that again and if I am at 195 it's ok to back down.....

The adrenalin released during exciting portions of a race, especially near the finish will increase HR. My threshold HR during races is approximately 7-8 bpm higher during races than during training.

Tired after a long hard ride ... that's crazy talk, you're just finding an excuse to stay off the bike :P

you puss


I have hit 209 once and 211 once. then decided to
never try that again and if I am at 195 it's ok to back down.....

LOL!