Training & Nutrition - Heart rate increase? why?

A co-worker and I are training in parallel, well, perhaps not really, he's run the Detroit Marathon and I am not bad on 30-mile bike rides. What we are both seeing is that after about 2 1/4 hours our heart rates rise up to the 90 - 94 percent range! We both feel good, we both have strength and energy, and at times we feel lactate and at times we don't. We seem to be moving at about the same speed as earlier in the event, in both cases, but it's actually hard to tell. And neither of us really understand it. If we slow down to stay in the upper 70's or low'80s we feel we're moving pretty slow.

Can anyone shed light on what is or might be happening?

My friend thinks he has better base conditioning that I, and he's probably right. I'm concerned that the time I spend in the 90's is not good, considering I'm actually trying to improve my base endurance and aerobic level (and shed my 35 pounds of excess central fuel store) by staying at or below the 80 or so percent MAXHR level. I'm not fixed on staying in zone 1, 77% feels real good in general! Theoretically I'm adding a lot of extra load by spending time in the 90's, and increasing my needed recovery time by perhaps a day each time. I do notice my morning HR takes an extra day to come back to earth.

He's 44, I'm 54, so comparing our actual HRs is probably not very useful.

Again, I'm looking for some helpful advice on what might be happening here and if it could be a problem, I guess.

Road Fan
Michigan

Again, I'm looking for some helpful advice on what might be happening here and if it could be a problem, I guess.Right, I see some one playing with a heart rate monitor. Keep playing, usually you'll learn something sooner or later.

A co-worker and I are training in parallel, well, perhaps not really, he's run the Detroit Marathon and I am not bad on 30-mile bike rides. What we are both seeing is that after about 2 1/4 hours our heart rates rise up to the 90 - 94 percent range! We both feel good, we both have strength and energy, and at times we feel lactate and at times we don't. We seem to be moving at about the same speed as earlier in the event, in both cases, but it's actually hard to tell. And neither of us really understand it. If we slow down to stay in the upper 70's or low'80s we feel we're moving pretty slow.

Can anyone shed light on what is or might be happening?

My friend thinks he has better base conditioning that I, and he's probably right. I'm concerned that the time I spend in the 90's is not good, considering I'm actually trying to improve my base endurance and aerobic level (and shed my 35 pounds of excess central fuel store) by staying at or below the 80 or so percent MAXHR level. I'm not fixed on staying in zone 1, 77% feels real good in general! Theoretically I'm adding a lot of extra load by spending time in the 90's, and increasing my needed recovery time by perhaps a day each time. I do notice my morning HR takes an extra day to come back to earth.

He's 44, I'm 54, so comparing our actual HRs is probably not very useful.

Again, I'm looking for some helpful advice on what might be happening here and if it could be a problem, I guess.

Road Fan
Michigan

Alot of things could be happening. First, when you determine % are you using actual MHR or a bogus age based formula. You need to have accurate numbers for the % to mean anything. Are you hydrating enough? Dehydration can lead to heart rate drift. In any event, I think heart rate drift is pretty normal for long training sessions. 2.25 hours is a pretty long running session, not so much for biking. If you're trying to work on base endurance & are not racing, don't worry about the speed too much & go by HR. Work on speed on days specifically set aside for that purpose. Typically, speed workouts will be much shorter. my .02.

Right, I see some one playing with a heart rate monitor. Keep playing, usually you'll learn something sooner or later.

Thank you, did you have a clear point?

Alot of things could be happening. First, when you determine % are you using actual MHR or a bogus age based formula. You need to have accurate numbers for the % to mean anything. Are you hydrating enough? Dehydration can lead to heart rate drift. In any event, I think heart rate drift is pretty normal for long training sessions. 2.25 hours is a pretty long running session, not so much for biking. If you're trying to work on base endurance & are not racing, don't worry about the speed too much & go by HR. Work on speed on days specifically set aside for that purpose. Typically, speed workouts will be much shorter. my .02.

We both use Polars, but different models. I am using the bogus formula, FWIW. I've done a Foster test to approximate LTHR, and it is 143 for me. However, it also contains potential error because judgiing "difficulty" of speaking a simple speech is a vague criterion. At the same time, when I reach 143, I am usually feeling pain in my legs and starting to breath faster through my mouth. Both symptoms go away when I slow down.

I felt telling you guys the numbers might be a useful communication tool. Guess not, oh well.

Road Fan