Training & Nutrition - Friel's LT test

hi I just started reading Friel's Total hear rate Training book (on chapter5) and I have a few questions?

1. when performing the test you hit the lap button every 10 mins and it gives you your average hear rate for each lap, the one your most concerned with is the one a the 20 minute mark. the issue I have is my HR (polar f6) doesn't have a lap counter so will recording my HR at the intervals work or does the lap counter actually state the true average of each lap?

2. Friel stats a lot of people will go too hard and therefore not finish the test. any tips on choosing a pace you should be able to sustain?

I can currently do the spinervals aerobase 16.0 dvd (80 min dvd) with a heart rate mostly in the 148-152 range.....so would trying to sustain 160-165 be a good start? or is that being over zealous

obviously I want to get this number as accurate as possible

1. I dunno how your HRM works, sorry. But Friel's intent is to figure out your average HR for the 20 minutes.

2. Look at it this way: it's a time trial but there's no entry fee, nobody watching, no money on the line. If you go out too hard and blow up, you'll know it and can try again another day. If you ease into it and finish with some left in the tank, you'll be wondering if you could've done a bit more.

80 minutes is kinda tough to work with - have you done intervals in the 5 minute range? WTH, try 162 or soo and see what happens. worst case, you'll have a good interval and you can take 5 and repeat.

Friel suggests that you record your HR for the last 20 min of a 30 min test.

Here's my suggestion (worked for me): Use the first 10 min of the test to find a hard pace that you think that you can barely, maybe not, hold for a full 30.

It should only take you a few min. to find this anyway so you're not wasting too much time out of 30 min.

Once that 10 min mark hits, you should be ready to commit to the effort you're putting out and maintain it. Look at your heart rate is at this point. Hold it for 20 more minutes.

Can't do it? Try again in a couple days

I'm gonna try it at the 162 and see if I blow up in 30 mins or not

if I think I can do more after the 30 min effort I'll try 165

if I fail I'll try 160

my biggest concern is finding away to get the average .... my hrm only tells me the average over a period of time so it will tell me the average for the 30 min time trial once i hit stop at the end.

I don't have a lap counter but I'm thinking if I stop the watch at 10 mins and restart it I'll only be loosing a few seconds. I don't think this will be enough to throw off the test either

I'm still doing my rehab from an it band injury but I wanted to get a head start of some reading so I can train smarter

If you don't have a way to get averages for separate laps, just don't hit "start" until after the 10 minutes. Don't try to "reset" it after the first 10 minutes, that will just screw with your pacing.

If you don't have a way to get averages for separate laps, just don't hit "start" until after the 10 minutes. Don't try to "reset" it after the first 10 minutes, that will just screw with your pacing.

makes sense


thanks

hi I just started reading Friel's Total hear rate Training book (on chapter5) and I have a few questions?

1. when performing the test you hit the lap button every 10 mins and it gives you your average hear rate for each lap, the one your most concerned with is the one a the 20 minute mark. the issue I have is my HR (polar f6) doesn't have a lap counter so will recording my HR at the intervals work or does the lap counter actually state the true average of each lap?

2. Friel stats a lot of people will go too hard and therefore not finish the test. any tips on choosing a pace you should be able to sustain?

I can currently do the spinervals aerobase 16.0 dvd (80 min dvd) with a heart rate mostly in the 148-152 range.....so would trying to sustain 160-165 be a good start? or is that being over zealous

obviously I want to get this number as accurate as possible

I've done the carmichael field test a few times (two 3 mile TTs with recovery in between). I think it's a little easier to do than a longer test as it's easier to know that you'll make it, though it hurts a bit more.

First of all, start slowly and take a full minute to get up to speed. Aim for about 90% effort initially, and then slowly increase as you do it. You won't do it perfectly the first time, so don't worry too much about it.

For me, I'm at the right level when I have to back off a little on slight hills.